You'll Know Where to Find Me
by slytherin-nette
Summary: Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers, and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago. I'll be waiting. You'll know where to find me. [DM / femHP]. COMPLETED 07.27.2016.
1. Chapter 1

**You'll Know Where to Find Me**

 **Summary:** Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers, and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago. I'll be waiting. You'll know where to find me.

 **Author:** slytherin-nette

 **Pairing:** Draco Malfoy / fem Harry Potter [1]

 **Genre:** Romance / Drama

 **Rating:** M

 **Warnings:** Semi-AU, Post-DH. Spoilers from all seven books. Mature themes.

 **Notes:** This is a short three-chapter ficlet that I couldn't seem to get out of my head for the past few weeks. The story is actually already finished but I'll be posting the rest of it in parts once I finish editing. In case of any confusion due to the fluctuating timelines, you may refer to the notes at the end of the chapters for reference. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Harriah 'Aria' Potter groaned and slowly forced her eyes open, wincing and squinting up at the shocking whiteness of the room around her. She blinked a couple of times, trying to let her eyes adjust to the light. When her vision finally cleared, however, she glanced down –noticing for the first time that she was lying on a hospital bed, her arms and legs wrapped tightly with thick white bandages. A thin white gauze was strapped securely onto the side of her head and she touched it gingerly, wincing when she was rewarded with a sharp, throbbing pain in her temple.

"Don't touch it. You'll need to give it time to heal."

Startled at the voice that had spoken, Aria blinked and looked up in surprise to see three persons standing by the foot of her bed. Two of them, her best friends Ron and Hermione, she recognized easily, but when she saw who the third person inside the room was, her surprised expression melted away into a suspicious glare.

 _What is 'he' doing here?_

Before she could say anything, however, Ron and Hermione cut her off when they both suddenly crowded around her, their expressions creasing with concern.

"You had us worried there, mate." Ron said softly.

"Aria. How are you feeling?" Hermione's brown eyes were glassy with tears as she reached down and grabbed one of Aria's hands, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"Horrible. Everything hurts." Aria answered, cringing at the way her voice sounded dry and raspy. When neither Ron nor Hermione didn't say anything and instead, exchange a worried look, Aria sighed and forced herself to sit up on the bed.

She suddenly remembered the presence of the other person in the room.

"Why is _he_ in here?" She asked coldly, voicing the question that had been in her head from the moment she had opened her eyes. "Did you two let him in here?"

"Aria." Hearing the derision in her best friend's voice, Hermione hesitated. She followed Aria's hateful glare to the tall blonde standing at the foot of Aria's bed.

"Aria, mate—" Ron glanced back and forth between Aria and Hermione. "You were hurt really badly after your final duel with You-Know-Who. You should rest—"

"I wasn't asking you about my health _,_ Ron." Aria snapped back coldly at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously as they met a pair of weary, mercury gray eyes across the room. "I was _asking_ you why you think I would feel secure waking up, not remembering a _goddamn_ thing in a bloody hospital room and I see _Draco Malfoy_ of all people standing in front of me!" She hissed, causing the defeated expression on Malfoy's face to tighten as the Slytherin swallowed and lowered his gaze to his feet.

At her words, Hermione paled and she shook her head.

"Aria—"

"He's a _Death Eater,_ Hermione! He let the Death Eaters into the school last night! Don't you remember that he's the reason Dumbledore's dead?! Get him out of my room! I want him out of my sight!" Aria suddenly exploded in a loud, angry shriek, surprisingly causing both Ron and Hermione to wince and Malfoy to take a step back, the strange expression on his face closing off as he sneered back at her.

"Aria, please try to calm down." Hermione tried to push her back onto the bed but Aria just shoved her hands away and continued to glare poisonously at Malfoy.

"Dumbledore _died_ last night, Hermione! Because of him! Don't you—"

"You should listen to your friends, Potter." Malfoy interrupted her in a soft, drawling voice – though Aria couldn't help but notice that the usual derision in his words seemed weaker than usual – and there was a strange roughness in his voice that gave Aria the impression that Malfoy was barely able to hold himself together.

Aria's eyes narrowed as she frowned at him, clearly confused by his answer.

"What does that mean?" She demanded, her eyes dark with suspicion.

Instead of answering her question, Malfoy averted his eyes and glanced pointedly at Ron, who surprised Aria even further when he sighed and spoke again.

"Aria." Ron interrupted, drawing Aria's attention back to him. "The night Dumbledore died? That was more than a year ago." He whispered in a hushed voice.

"What?!" Aria's green eyes widened in alarm and she stared at him as though he had just admitted to being a Death Eater. "That's impossible! It was last night—"

"It's the year 1998 [2], mate." Ron interrupted her again, shaking his head. "We – well _–_ _you_ defeated You-Know-Who about a month ago. You fought him in Hogwarts. The war is over, Aria. We spent the last year hunting and destroying all of the horcruxes." He glanced at her, taking in the utterly confused look on Aria's face.

"You really don't remember?" He asked carefully.

"I don't understand!" Aria answered shakily, shaking her head and falling back down against her pillows.

"If the war is over, then why don't I remember anything?! Why is it I can't remember only that one year?! What happened to me?!"

Ron hesitated, glancing uncertainly at Malfoy again but if anything, the strange way both men were acting – especially considering the fact that Ron had always _hated_ Malfoy before all this – caused Aria's eyes to narrow even further. When they said nothing, she felt confusion and frustration building up in her chest.

Before she could ask anything, however, Hermione spoke up again.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Hermione asked as she helped the other Gryffindor up, reaching over to the table and handing Aria a glass of water.

"No, I—" Aria shook her head in response and immediately regretted her decision, wincing when she was rewarded with a sharp, throbbing pain in her temple. "All I remember is…bits and flashes of my final duel with Voldemort. I remember all those dementors. And then…nothing. I—" She paused again, her eyes dimming slowly with realization as she stared at the blank white wall in front of her in horrified panic. "—Before that, my last memory is the day Dumbledore died. I can't remember anything else, Hermione! What happened to me?! Tell me what happened to me!"

"Shhhh." Hermione bit her lip as she reached out and cupped the other girl's cheek, using the same gesture to pull Aria against her in a tight, comforting embrace. "Calm down, Aria. We've just come from a long battle and your memory might just be a little off. Just try to remember what you can…Anything at all, Aria."

For a few long minutes, Aria said nothing and simply stared blankly over Hermione's shoulder, her hands shaking as she struggled to calm down and piece together what they were trying to tell her. Unfortunately, the more she forced herself to dig through her memory for anything to come up, the more her head began to throb and she winced in pain, instantly causing Malfoy to glance at her in concern.

"Stop this, Granger. We're hurting her." He said sharply.

"I'm sorry." Hermione immediately pulled away and studied Aria's reaction closely, noting the way the other girl's eyes had clenched in pain. "Aria, maybe we should just let you rest. We'll come back some other time once you've gotten rest—"

"No, I can do it! Let me!" Aria snapped, wrestling Hermione's arms off when the brown-haired Gryffindor had tried to push her back down onto the bed. Unfortunately, her sudden movements caused her to wince again as another sharp pain suddenly seemed to slice through her skull, as though ripping her head in half.

"It was you!" Aria's eyes widened in outrage as she flicked her gaze back up and glared at Malfoy's pale expression, her fingers clenching slowly into tight, angry fists. "You were the one who hexed me in the hospital a few days ago! What the _fuck_ did you do to me, Malfoy?! Why can't I remember anything?! She screamed at him.

"Aria, stop it!" Malfoy protested as he suddenly surged forward and grabbed Aria's hands, forcing the Gryffindor to still in place. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"What the fuck did you do to me?! What are you— _let go of me!_ Stop! _"_ Aria screamed furiously, struggling wildly against him as Malfoy tried to push her onto the bed. When this seemed to accomplish nothing but make Aria even _more_ hysterical, however, as she began screaming and thrashing desperately against Malfoy and Ron's attempts to placate her, Malfoy paled and bit his lip when it began to tremble.

"Weasley, call one of the healers back in here." He whispered hoarsely.

"Aria, _please._ " Hermione sobbed as Ron sighed and rushed out of the room, her eyes growing bright with tears as she covered her mouth. "I promise you that the answers you want _will_ come. I'm sorry…I'm so, _so_ sorry. You have to trust us."

Unfortunately, before Aria had any chance to react to Hermione's pleas, Ron had already rushed back in with one of the healers. When the healer raised his wand and pointed it at Aria's thrashing figure, the girl-who-lived slumped back lifelessly onto the bed.

* * *

"I can't do this." Hermione whispered as she watched the healer carefully tucking Aria's small frame back into the bed and re-attaching the IV into her arm.

"It's a bit too late for that, Granger." Draco answered her in a defeated voice, reaching out and gently taking one of Aria's hands, lifting the lifeless limb to his lips.

"Was this really the best choice?" Ron demanded as he lifted his gaze and turned to Draco, noticing for the first time the mistiness in the Slytherin's eyes. "Malfoy, we erased _fourteen_ months of her life! What right did we have to do that?!"

"It wasn't _about_ the best choice." Draco answered weakly, his shoulders slumping as he sat down onto the bed with a sigh. "It was the _only_ choice we had. She never would have been able to live the rest of her life anymore. Not…like that."

"I know, but—" Hermione's voice broke as she was overwhelmed by another onslaught of tears. "—Draco, is this what you really want?"

"She deserves to live the rest of her life peacefully." Draco whispered in a choked-up voice, his eyes never leaving Aria's face. "She deserves to be happy."

Neither Ron nor Hermione knew what to say in response to him so both Gryffindors chose to remain silent instead, watching as Draco leaned down, pressing a tender kiss onto Aria's hair before he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

For a long moment, Draco didn't say anything, and it wasn't until ten minutes later when he spoke again, though his words came out as a hoarse whisper.

"I should leave before she wakes up again. I'm probably the last person she should be seeing right now. It's probably why she went crazy."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances at that, both Gryffindors' expressions dimming with regret at the tenderness they heard in the Draco's voice. Finally, after another moment of silence, Ron stepped toward Draco and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, causing the Malfoy Heir to stiffen and look up at him. In that moment, for the very first time in the seventeen years that he and Ron Weasley knew each other, the redheaded Gryffindor was looking at him with a mixture of respect and remorse.

"Those were _your_ memories too, mate." Ron reminded him softly, causing Draco to clench his hands into fists. "Why would you choose to do this to yourself?"

"The healers said that there was a still a chance—"

"They said it was a _one_ percent chance, Malfoy! A _one_ percent chance of her regaining her lost memories! And that could take years!" Hermione exploded at him.

Draco swallowed the painful lump that had formed in his throat.

"It's a chance nevertheless."

"But… _why,_ Malfoy?" Ron asked again with a heavy sigh.

"Because."

Draco finally lifted his gaze from Aria's sleeping face and he met Ron's solemn gaze, allowing the other man to see the broken anguish in his eyes.

"I love her."

* * *

~~ **FIVE YEARS LATER** ~~

"I'm just _saying,_ Aria! You know, it might do you good to commit to a serious relationship already. Maybe it's time you thought about…settling down?" Hermione pointed out, sighing in exasperation when, instead of answering her, Aria just laughed and bent down, scooping little Rose Granger Weasley up into her arms and bouncing the adorable 3-year-old. When Hermione continued to glare at her in question, obviously not letting the matter slide, Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh 'Mione, give it a break, will you? We've been through all this before." Aria reminded her, glancing over her shoulder to give her best friend a quelling glare.

"I'll settle down when I find the right person. I just… Well, I just haven't found him yet!"

"What is it exactly you're looking for? Need I remind you, Aria Potter, you've already had – well what is it now – _four_ serious relationships in the last five years?"

"Four _failed_ relationships." Aria corrected her, making a face.

"Exactly my point." Hermione stood up from where she was sitting on the couch and extracted her giggling daughter from Aria's arms, causing her black-haired best friend to let out an another annoyed sigh. "All I'm saying is…I noticed how you seem to be afraid to commit to anyone. I'm really worried about you, Aria."

"Hermione, _really._ You worry too much." Aria managed a wry smile at the other girl's words. She reached out and tickled Rose's tiny feet, causing the toddler to giggle and squirm in her mother's arms. "The truth? I guess I'm still trying to make the most out of my life after all that's happened." She let out a sheepish laugh and raised a hand to scratch the back of her head. "—I guess I don't see myself settling down like you and Ron and having kids and all that. Of course, not that I'm judging you two or anything, I'm happy for you both. And I love little Rosie here." Aria paused and winked at Rose, causing the toddler to gurgle and smile back at her.

"Maybe I'm just not cut out to get married and have a family."

"Aria, don't say things like that." Hermione's expression sobered as she slowly set Rose back down onto the carpet and moved forward, giving the other woman a brief hug. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming off as pressuring you. I really do just want you to be happy. Especially after everything you've been through during the war—"

"You see that's the thing, Hermione! I don't have any recollection of all that." Aria pointed out with another exasperated sigh before she sank back down onto the couch in the living room. "I mean, you and Ron tell me stories all the time about the stuff that I did and how I almost died and how I fought Voldemort but…well, I still don't remember any of it all, 'Mione. And I think that's the problem." Aria admitted.

"I'm not sure I understand, Aria." Frowning, Hermione sat down beside Aria, making sure to keep a close eye on Rose as she wandered around their living room.

"What do you mean by that?" She prodded.

"It's like—" Aria was silent for a few minutes and bit her lip as she tried to figure out how to explain herself. "I'm still trying to look for something missing. And I'm not just talking about the lost memories, it's more of…trying to find a huge puzzle piece of my life that's missing _because_ of those memories." She looked up, meeting Hermione's brown orbs with wide green eyes. "It may be the excitement or the danger I missed out on during the war, or that feeling of uncertainty. I don't know if that makes any sense." She smiled ruefully and shook her head at herself.

"It makes more sense than you think." Hermione assured her gently, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Aria's to give her fingers a squeeze. "That day you woke up after the war, you'd lost more than a year's worth of memories, Aria. You don't have to be ashamed of feeling like a whole chunk of your life is missing."

"I still don't understand _how_ it happened." Aria frowned at her. "You said it was because of all those dementors that Voldemort had sent on me before he died?

"Yes, we think so." Hermione answered slowly, refusing to meet Aria's eyes as she spoke. "He knew he had lost. He just wanted to hurt you." She whispered.

"But…then, _why_ just wipe out a year's worth of memories?" Aria blinked a couple of times and looked up at Hermione again, causing the other girl to flinch. "Why didn't he finish the job and erase _all_ of my memories completely?" She asked.

Hermione stilled and opened and closed her mouth a few times.

Fortunately, before she got the chance to say anything, they were interrupted when they heard the sound of the floo-connected fireplace roaring to life in the other room, followed by the sound of Ronald Weasley's cheerful voice breaking the silence.

"'Mione? I'm home!"

"We're in the sitting room, Ron!" Hermione called back, her voice sounding a little too relieved for Aria's liking. Before she could comment on it, however, Ron had already strode into the room, causing Rose to squeal and rush into her father's arms.

"Daddy!" She giggled as Ron laughed and swept her up easily, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. In spite of herself, Aria smiled at the sight as she and Hermione both stood up and Hermione greeted her husband with a brief, chaste kiss.

"Oh hey, mate. I didn't realize you were here." Ron gave her an apologetic grin as Aria leaned in and greeted him with a customary peck on the cheek. "Since you're here, why don't you stay for dinner? It's been awhile since we've caught up."

"I'm good, mate. I should probably get going, I have an early Quidditch match to prepare for tomorrow. Our last game of the season." She reminded them.

"Oh, right!" Ron's eyes widened in realization and he glanced excitedly back and forth between Hermione and Aria. "It's Puddlemere United against the Cannons championship match tomorrow! Hey, what happened to those tickets I asked you—"

"Here." Aria rolled her eyes, laughing as she reached into her pocket and handed Ron a pair of Top Box tickets. "It's why I came over, actually. I was going to invite you guys to watch the game. And to watch me win, of course." She winked.

"Don't be so cocky, Aria." Hermione warned her with a tut of disapproval.

"Are you kidding me, 'Mione?" Ron blurted out, bouncing Rose in his arms as he held the tickets up to the light with a wide, ecstatic grin. "Aria's the best seeker that Puddlemere United's had in _ages_! Unfortunately I'm still a die-hard Cannons fan until the end but even _I_ have to admit that Puddlemere's the team to beat this year."

"Hey!" Aria scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Weasley, you didn't tell me that you were for the Cannons when you asked me to get you those tickets."

"You never asked." Ron answered back, grinning.

"Alright you two, that's enough." Hermione interrupted, laughing at Aria's disgruntled expression. She reached out and took Rose from her husband, gathering the toddler back into her arms. "I don't want another Quidditch debate in my house."

"Like you could ever avoid those." Aria pointed out, her lips twitching in amusement as she watched Rose whining and tugging on her mother's hair. Shaking her head, she walked over to her and leaned down to give Rose a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Be good for your parents, okay? So next week, you could finally go with your cool godmother and I could take you flying!" She cooed.

"I don't think so, Aria." Hermione deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

Aria grinned helplessly at Rose and shrugged.

"Eh, it was worth a shot."

* * *

"—so before this championship match officially begins, I'd just like to take this opportunity to do this now, before the thousands of people watching this morning."

Austin Flint, Captain of the Puddlemere United Quidditch Team, paused in the middle of his speech and smiled slowly, turning his gaze until he was staring at his girlfriend's shocked expression. From where she was already out in the pitch, sitting on top of her broom with the rest of her teammates, Aria gaped at him and arched an eyebrow, clearly confused as to why he was making such an announcement in front of their thousands of fans gathered around the massive Quidditch stadium.

"Harriah Potter?" Austin's boyish grin faltered slightly as he swallowed and reached into the pocket of robes, pulling out a small red box. Then, fingers slightly shaking, he held his wand up to his throat again and met Aria's stunned green eyes.

"…Will you marry me?"

Before Aria could realize what exactly it was Austin had asked, or before she could even register his words correctly, their audience went absolutely _crazy –_ cameras flashing everywhere, reporters and journalists rushing as fast as they could towards the front stands so that they could take a picture of the ring Austin was holding up in his hands. Breathing heavily, Aria blinked a few times with a dazed expression on her face before she glanced at Austin again, unsure of what to answer.

 _Oh god, oh god…Oh god._ Trembling slightly, Aria shifted her gaze around the growing crowd of fans watching her, almost cringing when she realized that all of the magical screens plastered around the stadium were enchanted so that each one showed a close-up of her face. Biting her lip, she shot a glance at Ron and Hermione again. To her surprise, both of her best friends were watching her with strangely worried looks on their faces. More importantly, for all her talk about settling down the other day, Hermione's features were drawn tight and she was watching Aria very closely with a pained, uncertain look on her face that Aria had never seen before.

 _Well, Hermione always 'did' say that I should settle down soon, did she not? Maybe this is the chance for that._ Aria thought to herself as she finally met Austin's nervous expression again, chuckling at the way her boyfriend seemed just about ready to fall off his broom as he waited for her answer.

 _Maybe she's right. Maybe it's time for me to get married and start my own family. Have children…and be happy._

"Austin Flint."

Sighing, Aria finally allowed a small, nervous smile to curl her lips as she glanced at Austin again, ignoring the way her teammates around her were all grinning from ear-to-ear and nudging her playfully. Slowly, she allowed her smile to grow into her trademark grin, making their audience scream even louder.

"I would _love_ to marry you."

At the ecstatic, handsome smile that Austin gave her in response, the audience exploded into another chorus of cheers, shrieks and catcalls.

It was only about half an hour later – when the reporters finished their picture taking and the spectators had calmed down when officiators finally signaled for the game to start.

Still smiling widely, Austin threw one last wave at the audience before he rejoined the rest of the Puddlemere United Team. Before he took up his position with the other Chasers, however, he stopped his broom beside Aria's. After they shared a sweet, albeit laughing kiss, he lowered his head to hers and whispered into her ear.

"I _told_ you we're the fan favorite 'ship'." He teased, using the term he and Aria had learned the past few weeks from their interview sessions with their fans.

"Get to your post, Captain, or I'll sink yours. You're going to pay dearly later for proposing to me in public." She quipped back, making a face and causing Austin to chuckle again. He slipped the beautiful diamond ring onto her finger, gave her one last kiss on the lips, and then finally flew off to join the rest of the other Chasers.

* * *

 _Where is that bloody snitch?!_

Aria adjusted the goggles strapped onto her face and surveyed the Quidditch area carefully, oblivious to the thousands of fans and onlookers screaming and cheering her on around the stadium. A few feet away, she could make out Austin and the rest of her teammates flying furiously around the pitch, tossing the Quaffle back and forth between them as they tried to evade the other Chudley Cannon Chasers.

Sighing, she withdrew her gaze from the other players and studied the pitch carefully again, narrowing her eyes in search of a glint of gold. Fortunately, after a few seconds of this, she caught a quick glimpse of what appeared to be the snitch a couple of meters above the Top Box and she flew towards it, grunting in annoyance when she saw that the Chudley Cannon's Seeker instantly charged right after her.

Just as she was thinking of a way to shake the other seeker off by plunging into a dive, another brief flash of gold caught her eye and her gaze automatically flicked towards it. Sure enough, at the sight of the familiar miniscule golden ball hovering just a few inches above the Top Box railings, Aria allowed herself a grin in triumph and flew furiously toward it, causing another chorus of excited fan screams.

Unfortunately, before she _or_ the other seeker trailing after her even managed to reach the Top Box, Aria was distracted when _another_ shining color – this time, it was an unnervingly familiar shade of platinum silver – appeared near the snitch. Glancing toward it, Aria only had enough time to register the fact that the snitch had vanished and in its place, what appeared to be a young, silver-blonde child was bending very dangerously low over the edge of the railing, before her eyes widened in alarm and she immediately forced herself to fly faster towards the toppling child.

"That child is about to fall off the edge of the railing!"

"Somebody catch him before he falls!"

Aria could barely make out the panicked yelling of the announcers and the screams of the occupants of the Top Box as she raced as fast as she could towards the railings, making it just seconds before the child finally _slipped_ and toppled over. Amidst the screams of the spectators gathered around them, the child plummeted a few meters through the air before Aria finally flew under him and broke his fall when he landed in her arms, causing the Seeker to let out a pained grimace at the impact.

" _Oomph!_ Okay, that hurt." Aria winced as she slowed in mid-air and glanced down incredulously at the little bundle in her arms. Her eyes grew wide in shock, however, when she was met with big green eyes staring back up at her with a look of utter admiration and star struck awe pooling in their depths. "Are you okay, kid?"

"You caught me!" The child squealed, his pale, handsome face breaking out into a wide smile as he stared up at her, taking in her flabbergasted expression. "I _knew_ you wouldn't let me fall! And I caught the snitch for you!" He declared proudly as he raised one of his fists up, allowing Aria to see the snitch trapped in his hand.

"Merlin's beard, kid. Are you mental?" Was all she managed to say after a few minutes of staring blankly at his gleeful expression. "What were you doing anyway?!"

"I wanted to catch the snitch like you!" He told her, frowning at her reaction. "You're my favorite Quidditch player! And I want to be just like you when I grow up!"

"You almost _died!_ " Aria said with a laugh, shaking her head. "Next time, just try to be a little more careful, okay little sport?" She gave him a small, teasing grin.

"I wasn't scared." He declared again with a haughty, knowing smile.

"And why not?" Aria arched an eyebrow at him.

"Because!" He mirrored Aria's grin right back at her, his big green eyes bright with exhilaration. "I knew that you would be right there to catch me!" He told her.

Aria blinked and stared at him for a few seconds as she tried to make sense of what he was trying to say. "I'm flattered but why would you assume that?"

" _Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy!"_

As she hovered above the Top Box, she never got to hear the boy's answer as she slowly lifted her gaze, recognizing the tall, familiar blonde man hurriedly making his way over to where Aria hovered above the stands. He took a step back in alarm at the sight of her, his wide eyes flicking back and forth between her and the child she was carrying in panic, before the expression on his face slowly hardened.

Clearing his throat, he gestured quietly to the child she held.

"I believe that's my son you're holding there, Potter." He said quietly.

"Draco Malfoy." Aria gaped at him, glancing back and forth between the blonde child who was clinging tightly onto her and Draco's strangely uneasy expression.

"This little kid here is your son?" She sputtered, gaping openly at him.

"What's the matter, Potter? Is it so hard for you to accept that I'm capable of producing a child?" Draco's expression hardened even more at her reaction and he sneered at her before he stepped toward and held his hands out to the child she was carrying. "Scorpius, you are in _very_ big trouble. Come on, we're going back home."

"But I don't want to go! I want to finish the game!" He whined.

" _Now,_ Scorpius."

Scowling, Scorpius bowed his head but acceded to his father's request as he reluctantly released the grip he had around Aria and reached out, allowing his father to gather him back into his arms. As soon as he was back safely behind the railings of the Top Box, Aria leaned back and she allowed herself to hover for a while longer.

"Aw come on, don't punish the little kid, Malfoy. He was probably just excited. The exhilaration of Quidditch and all. I'm sure you can understand that." Aria tried to cajole as she watched Draco fussing over Scorpius for a few minutes, checking to see if he got injured. When Draco didn't say anything in response, Aria continued. "In any case, it's…weird but great to see you, Malfoy. Last I saw you was…5 years ago?"

"Potter."

Aria almost flinched at the sharpness in his voice when Draco finally lifted his gaze from Scorpius and eyed her carefully, his lips curling into his trademark sneer.

"Are you trying to make small talk?" He mocked.

"The operative word in that statement is, in fact, 'trying'." Aria quipped back with an awkward laugh.

When Draco just arched an eyebrow at her, Aria shrugged at him and pointed to Scorpius, meeting the blonde's wide grin with one of her own.

"He's a cute kid." She commented idly.

"I'm not a kid!" Scorpius declared loudly, glancing up at her and giving her a slightly indignant glare. "I'm already _five_ -years-old! I can tie my own shoelaces! _"_

"My apologies." Aria grinned, her eyes lighting up with mirth.

"What I meant to say was that, I think he's a very adventurous, daring young man." She teased, causing Scorpius to grin cheekily up at her.

"Suddenly, you seem to know my kid so much, Potter? By talking to him for what? Three minutes?" Draco challenged her, narrowing his eyes at her in disbelief.

Aria smiled as she glanced at Scorpius again, giving him a wink. " _Any_ kid willing to risk falling off the top of a stadium to catch the snitch is okay in my book."

In spite of himself, Draco's lips twitched slightly at her words and to Aria's surprise, the tension on his face melted away, only to be replaced by a decidedly amused smirk.

Chuckling softly, he shook his head at her in exasperation.

"You _would_ say that."

Aria laughed at that, her shoulders shaking with hilarity, and the reporters around them went crazy again, snapping pictures left and right of their entire exchange.

Unfortunately, Draco seemed to notice the amount of attention they were drawing and looked uncomfortable. He grabbed Scorpius' hand and gave Aria a nod.

"You have my gratitude for saving my son, Potter. I'm in your debt. But I should leave now before the reporters get even crazier. Good luck with the match—"

"Wait, Father! Wait!" Reaching his hand back into his pocket, Scorpius held the snitch out to Aria and waved his hand haphazardly in front of her face.

"Here's the snitch, Aria! I think you need it to win the game." He pointed out in a knowing voice.

"Appreciate it, kid. You made my job much easier." Aria agreed, smiling as she held her hand out and allowed Scorpius to deposit the snitch into her palm.

"You know, you should be a Seeker. You seem to have the talent for it." She told him.

"Really?!" Scorpius' face lit up at her words and, practically bouncing in his father's arms, he turned to Draco and gave him a wide smile. "Did you hear that, Father?! Aria Potter said I could be a Seeker too!" He exclaimed, the genuine excitement in his words causing Draco to sigh in defeat and nod reluctantly at him.

Oblivious to their little exchange, Aria slowly raised the snitch in her hand up in the air, indicating to the referee watching near the end of the pitch. Almost instantly, as soon as they recognized the winged, golden ball fluttering in her hand, the referee's eyes widened and he blew his whistle, signaling the end of the match.

" _PUDDLEMERE UNITED WINS THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!"_

* * *

With a loud pop, Aria apparated smack in the middle of Diagon Alley.

 _Hmm. It's been awhile since I've been here._

She thought idly to herself in amusement as she began weaving her way through the crowd of bustling wizards and witches, her eyes darting around in search of the pub Austin and his friends were talking about. Just as she was passing this old quidditch shop she used to frequent all the time when she was a kid, Aria's eyes widened in mild surprise when she saw the two occupants inside the store. Frowning, Aria glanced at her watch again, inwardly debating whether she had time to drop by and talk to them. Then, with a careless shrug, Aria figured to herself that she was already late in meeting the rest of her teammates anyway and grinned, heading down the small street to the shop.

Amusingly enough, the minute she opened the door and got wind of the interesting argument the store's occupants seemed to be having inside, she laughed.

"—Scorpius! This is a professional quidditch player's broomstick! You're too young for this model!"

"But I _need_ a Flashbolt, Father! I'm going to be a Seeker!"

"I'll buy you a better broomstick when you're older."

"But I want one _now!"_

Scorpius scowled up impatiently at Draco from where the two blondes were standing in front of the counter, arguing in front of the elderly storekeeper who was watching them in amusement. Neither one of them didn't seem to have noticed Aria's presence as Scorpius scowled again and stamped his foot loudly onto the floor.

"I want it!" He whined.

" _Why_ do you want this broom so much?"

"Because it's the same broom that Mommy uses!"

"Scorpius." Draco sighed in exhaustion. "I thought we _talked_ about this."

"I don't care! I want it!" Scorpius practically screamed back at him.

"Uhm, not that I'm an expert on children or anything, Malfoy." Aria finally spoke up from where she had been watching the entire exchange by the door, instantly causing Draco to jump at the sound of her voice and whirl around in alarm. "—but I'm pretty sure your son is 10 seconds away from throwing a tantrum. Maybe you should consider giving him what he wants?" She kidded.

To her confusion, Draco's eyes widened and he seemed to pale when he realized that she had been standing there the whole time.

"Draco, are you okay?" She asked, her smirk dissolved into a worried frown at his unexpected reaction. "Er…You look like you've seen a ghost." She commented.

"I—I'm fine." He blinked a couple of times in shock at the way Aria had addressed him by his first name and shook his head, his pale cheeks flushing slightly as he grabbed Scorpius by the shoulders and began wrestling the young Malfoy Heir back into his coat.

"Scorpius, put on your coat. We're leaving." He urged in a tightly clipped voice.

"But we haven't bought anything yet— _Miss Aria!"_

His temper tantrum temporarily forgotten, Scorpius' eyes suddenly widened at the sight of her and, to both Aria and Draco's surprise, Scorpius tore himself from his father's grip and bounded towards Aria, jumping at her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Wow." Aria managed a confused laugh in spite of herself and awkwardly patted the 5-year-old on the back.

"It's great to see you too, kiddo. How are you?" She chided.

"He's just fine, Potter." Draco answered her curtly, interrupting Scorpius just as the latter had opened his mouth to answer. "Anyway, we'd better get going—"

"I never got to thank you for saving me." Scorpius declared pointedly as he blinked his green eyes up at Aria again, earning a smile from the Gryffindor.

"It was impolite. And grandmother says that a Malfoy should _never_ be impolite." He added.

Kneeling down slightly so that she was level with his height, Aria chuckled at the conviction in his words – particularly the way Scorpius spoke with such self-assurance – and nodded, obliging him with a serious look. "Yes, that's true. Your grandmother was very smart in saying that." She agreed, causing Scorpius to smile.

"Thank you for saving me, Miss Aria!" He chimed, his young features lighting up as he stared up at her.

Still chuckling, Aria nodded and ruffled his hair.

"You're quite welcome, sport. Oh, and there's no need for the formality. Just call me 'Aria', okay?" She waited until Scorpius grinned at her again and nodded before she finally stood up and chanced another glance at Draco, noting the way the blonde Slytherin kept shifting uneasily.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I was just passing by and I saw you two in here. I just wanted to check up on Scorpius to make sure he was okay. I mean, that was quite a fall he took the other day." Aria offered with a shrug, to which Draco answered by giving her a sneer and narrowing his eyes at her in anger.

"Why do _you_ care so much about my son, Potter?" He hissed back.

Almost instantly, at the tone of his voice and the familiar sneer on his face, the friendly smile on Aria's face vanished and was replaced by an angry glare.

"Like I said, I just wanted to see if he was doing okay."

"He _will_ be once you're gone." Draco snapped.

"Damn it, Malfoy. I am _not_ trying to antagonize you at all. Why are you being such a jerk?!" Aria growled, gritting her teeth as she sought to control her temper.

It wouldn't exactly do well for her to react the same way she used to back when she and Draco were enemies in Hogwarts. That was more than 5 years ago, even _before_ the war, and she would have liked to think that both she and Draco had matured from the petty insults they had used to fling at each other back and forth.

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 1** **st** **Year (1991)** ~~

" _Hey Potter!"_

 _Aria gritted her teeth as she pushed past the doors to the Great Hall and hastily began to make her way over to the Gryffindor table. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy seemed completely oblivious that Aria was determined to ignore his existence altogether and trailed after her with a wide, cocky smirk on his smug, annoying face._

" _I heard you made the quidditch team yesterday."_

" _That's right, Malfoy. Why? Are you jealous?" Aria mocked loudly._

" _Not at all." His smirk grew wider as he towered over her seated form on the table. "In fact, I think it makes sense. McGonagall must feel really sorry for you, seeing as you have no parents and all, that she thought letting you join the quidditch team despite your lack of talent would distract you from your life as an orphan—"_

" _Shut the hell up, Malfoy!" Aria shouted at him, seething with anger._

" _Awww what's wrong? Did I hit a nerve, Potter? Are you going to cry now?" The vicious sneer on Draco's face widened and he leaned in closer, towering over Aria's seated form on the table so that their faces were mere inches apart. "It must be so hard for you, isn't it? Growing up without any parents. You must be so desperate for attention all the time. Tell me Potter, do your relatives hate you?"_

" _Malfoy, I swear to god, if you don't shut up right now—"_

" _Do you miss your mudblood mother, Potter? Do you cry yourself to sleep—"_

 _The rest of Draco's taunt ended up as a scream as Aria finally snapped and she launched herself at him, tackling his form onto the table and punching his face._

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

Blinking a couple of times to clear the memory away, Aria flicked her gaze back up to see Draco looking at her with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

Sighing, he shook his head and raised his hand, massaging his temples in thought.

"You're right, I'm sorry." He managed an empty laugh and glanced at her, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards into a wry smile.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose." He admitted.

"And by 'old habits', I gather you mean your favorite pastime of thinking of carefully constructed insults to make fun of me." Aria deadpanned, causing Draco's lips to twitch in amusement. He arched an eyebrow at her and gave her a smirk.

"Well, it _was_ so much fun." He remarked dryly.

"Is that right?" Aria rolled her eyes, shaking her head in annoyance before she glanced at Scorpius again, marveling at his remarkable resemblance to Draco.

"So…Exactly who is this little tyke's mother? It's not Pansy Parkinson, is it?" She quipped, inadvertently causing Draco to make a face and shake his head at her.

"Very funny, Potter." Draco scoffed before he beckoned Scorpius over, waiting until the 5-year-old reluctantly let go of Aria's hand and walked back behind him, allowing his father to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

"Actually, Scorpius… _doesn't_ have a mother." Draco admitted after a long moment of tense silence.

"What?" Aria blinked at him in stunned confusion. "How the bloody hell—"

"Potter, you git. _O_ _f course_ he has a mother. _Biologically_ speaking." Draco rolled his eyes at her reaction. "What I meant was, he doesn't have a mother anymore. He _did_ but…Well, we…we split up five years ago. So I raised him by myself." He explained.

"I… _see._ "

The confused expression on Aria's face immediately sobered at Draco's words and suddenly, she felt incredibly ignorant and guilty for asking him such a question.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine." Draco shook his head at her and waved her guilt away. "It was a long time ago. Besides." He reached down and ruffled Scorpius' hair again, instantly causing the young Malfoy Heir to scowl and to glare up at his father in annoyance. "Scorpius is getting along well. And right now, that's all that really matters to me."

"That's…great, Malfoy." Aria managed to say after another long, awkward silence.

She gave him a small but genuine smile. "He _does_ seem like a great kid."

"You're his favorite Quidditch player, you know." Draco told her.

Aria couldn't help but notice the way Draco's eyes lit up and his whole expression softened whenever he spoke about his son. "Whenever we talk about quidditch, it's always…Aria Potter this and that. It's insulting to my pride, really." He let out a dramatic sigh and the smirk that he gave her caused Aria to laugh in spite of herself.

"And you used to taunt me by saying I was a horrible flyer." Aria cheeked, grinning as she recalled their squabbles over quidditch when they were younger.

"Ah, the beauty of poetic justice."

"Piss off, Potter."

"How very eloquent of you."

"After all these years, you're _still_ ruining my life."

"I missed you too, Malfoy."

They smiled at each other just then – both of their expressions soft as they held each other's gaze for a long time – and for a moment, Aria felt a strange feeling of déjà vu stirring in the pit of her stomach. It was gone the instant Draco tore his gaze from hers though, and Aria blinked a few times, suddenly feeling disoriented.

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 2** **nd** **Year (1992)** ~~

" _I hate you, Scarhead."_

 _Startled, Aria looked up from the book she was reading in the far corner of the library and found herself staring up at Malfoy's cold, mocking sneer. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle huddled close behind him, leering at her over Malfoy's shoulder._

" _Should I feel bad about that, Malfoy?"_

 _Seeing the boredom on her face, the glare on Malfoy's face intensified and he slammed his palms down onto the table. "Do you think that just because you beat me in that last Quidditch game, you're a much better seeker than me now, Potter?"_

 _Aria blinked at him and arched a single eyebrow in growing annoyance._

" _What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy?"_

" _I want a re-match." He growled back, his hands clenching tightly into fists. "You intentionally distracted me from catching the snitch during our last game—"_

" _Malfoy, the blasted snitch was right in front of you!" Aria retorted, glaring at him in angry exasperation. "If you hadn't been so busy yakking away all that hot air and hurling stupid, useless insults at me, you might have seen the damn thing!"_

" _Like I said, you were distracting me!" Draco scoffed, oblivious to the way Madam Pince was already glaring at them at all the noise they were making. It didn't help that Crabbe and Goyle weren't being particularly discreet with their sniggers._

" _Do you really think you could have beaten me?! You're a horrible flyer!"_

" _Oh please, I could fly circles around you, prissy boy." Aria challenged._

" _Is that a challenge, you pathetic orphan?!" Draco sneered._

" _It's a warning, you blonde twat!"_

" _Why you—"_

 _Right then and there, just when it looked as though Draco was about to wrap his fingers tightly around her throat, Madam Pince finally swooped down on them._

 _"Potter! Malfoy!" She screeched, unwittingly causing all the studying students around them to wince at the sharp sound and look up in alarm to watch the scene._

 _"No fighting in the library!"_

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

"Are you okay, Potter?" Draco asked when he saw her dazed expression.

"Y—yeah, I'm fine. So anyway." Aria shook her head to clear the haziness away and finally looked up at him again, nodding. "I should probably take off now."

"You're leaving?" Scorpius suddenly peered up at her again from behind his father, his green eyes dimming with disappointment. "Can't you stay a bit longer?"

"Scorpius." Draco warned, trying to meet his son's eyes but Aria just chuckled and obliged him by squatting down onto the floor so that she could meet his gaze.

"I'm afraid I have to, kid. My team is waiting for me. You _did_ help us win that Quidditch match, you know. So we're celebrating." She winked at him, causing Scorpius' shoulders to slump as he nodded in understanding. Smiling at his adorable reaction, Aria shrugged and, ignoring the look on Draco's face, she spoke up again.

"You're welcome to join us, if you like." She told him.

"Really?! I can?!" Scorpius' green eyes immediately brightened in happiness and he looked up, tugging excitedly onto his father's hand. "Father, can we go—"

"No."

Hearing the harsh tone that had suddenly laced itself into Draco's voice, Aria blinked and she glanced up, startled at the ominous expression she saw on his face. Sneering, he ignored his son's pleading cries and grabbed tightly onto Scorpius' hand.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Potter. You see, my son and I have another appointment to go to. And besides, we wouldn't want to intrude." He drawled curtly.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line. I just thought that he might want to meet the other players—"

"Well, you thought wrong." Draco growled back, causing Aria to flinch.

"I'm really sorry." Aria offered again, unsure of what else she should say.

"Father, I want to go! I want to go with her! I don't want her to leave again!" Scorpius began to sob loudly and tugged on his father's hand, trying to get away.

"Scorpius, we're going home. _Now._ " Draco scolded him sharply.

"No! I don't want to lose her again! " When the blonde 5-year-old's cries only seemed to get worse and he began wailing and sobbing hysterically, Draco paled and he bent down, scooping his crying son into his arms and heading towards the door.

As she watched them go, Aria bit her lip, watching in utter confusion as Scorpius continued to wail and reach his tiny arms out toward her from over Draco's shoulder.

Before they reached the doors to the shop, Aria called out to him again.

"Draco!"

He froze in the middle of reaching for the doorknob and turned around, his eyes wide as they peered directly into hers, as though in search of something.

Aria just shrugged and gave him one last, uncertain smile.

"It was nice seeing you again."

At the emptiness of her words, Draco's eyes dimmed and he seemed to wilt for a few seconds, his gaze falling to the floor.

"You too."

Then, as quickly as his strange reaction had appeared, he met her gaze again, and Aria was taken back by the guarded look in his eyes.

"Congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you."

Before he left, Draco paused and he cast her one last, reluctant look over his shoulder.

"You'll know where to find me."

When Aria just blinked and stared back at him in confusion, Draco sneered at her and turned around, leading his son out the doors of the shop.

* * *

 **Notes:**

[1] I got the nickname **Aria for fem-Harry** from **Little Red** by **babyvfan**. Go and check it out, it's a wonderfully dark, sexy little story featuring DM and femHP.

[2] In canon, Voldemort was defeated in 1998. The beginning of this story takes place right after.


	2. Chapter 2

**You'll Know Where to Find Me**

 **Summary:** Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers, and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago.

 **Author:** slytherin-nette

 **Pairing:** Draco Malfoy / fem Harry Potter

 **Genre:** Romance / Drama

 **Rating:** M

 **Warnings:** Semi-AU, Post-DH. Spoilers from all seven books. Mature themes.

 **Notes:** Chapter 2 of 3.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

~~ **6 MONTHS LATER** ~~

"I don't know." Making a face at herself in the mirror, Aria turned around a few times and frowned at the way the neckline of the wedding dress she was wearing was showing _way_ too much of her breasts than she would have liked. "It just seems a little too… _inappropriate_ for a wedding ceremony. Don't you think so?" She asked.

"I don't think it's inappropriate." Ginny Weasley chimed in from where she, Hermione and Luna sat in the corner of the shop. "You look _hot_ in it!" She added.

"Well, _I_ think it's a bit too inappropriate." Hermione pointed out, causing Ginny to roll her eyes at her in exasperation. "I mean, if that neckline were just a little bit lower, your breasts are likely to spill out in the middle of the ceremony." She frowned in disapproval.

"Maybe we should try to go for a more unconventional color? How about a nice wedding dress in _sarcoline?_ " Luna suggested in a soft, slightly dreamy voice.

Aria blinked and stared blankly at the blonde Ravenclaw for a few moments, wondering first, if her friend was actually serious or joking, and second, what the bloody hell was _sarcoline_ in the first place. Fortunately, Hermione and Ginny were used to Luna's outrageous comments by now and the two women just ignored her.

"You think we should stick with the first dress?" Aria asked, glancing at Hermione's reflection in the full-length mirror in front of her. "Or the third dress?"

"Hmm." Hermione frowned and tapped her chin in thought. "Well, I definitely liked the elegant style of the first dress you tried on. But I think the third one kind of accentuated your form much better. Plus, it's not as slutty as this one." She added.

Aria snorted. "By 'slutty', I do hope that you're referring to the dress and not the wearer." She quipped, causing Hermione to roll her eyes in mild exasperation.

"Am I the _only_ one who thinks this dress looks good?" Ginny complained.

"Ginny, for the sake of our friendship, I refuse to answer that." Hermione quipped, causing the redhead to scowl and toss a balled-up piece of paper at her.

"Ugh. This is hopeless." Aria groaned as she stepped back down from the stool she stood on and allowed the seamstress behind her to help her out of the wedding dress she was wearing. "I thought finding a dress was supposed to be the _fun_ part of wedding planning. This is just stressing me out." She complained glumly.

"Well, for most bride-to-bes, finding a wedding dress _is_ supposed to be fun." Hermione chuckled as she stood up and gave her best friend a sympathetic hug. "Maybe you're just getting stressed out with all the wedding preparations you've been handling lately. I mean, you _have_ been pushing yourself too much." She said.

"Hermione's right, Aria." Ginny agreed, leaning back against her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. "Planning a wedding is supposed to be fun and exciting, it's not supposed to make you feel all stressed out. Maybe you're going about it the wrong way. You can take a day off or something." She said, shrugging.

"I could bring you with me to my Koan meditation class." Luna offered, drawing Aria's attention back to her. "It really helps me relax." She pointed out.

"Uhm…Thanks, Luna." Aria laughed nervously, shaking her head before beginning to wrestle herself back into her clothes. "But I think I'm just going to follow Ginny's advice and take a break from all the wedding planning. I might just go to Diagon Alley today." She pondered the idea for a few minutes before frowning.

"Oh no wait. I'm supposed to meet the florist this afternoon—"

"Ginny, Luna and I can meet them later for you if you want." Hermione offered, to which Aria responded by smiling in relief and giving her a grateful hug.

"Oh, would you?! That would be great, you guys! Thank you!" Aria exclaimed as she pulled all three women into another hug. "I could really appreciate a day off right now. I think I'll just walk around Diagon Alley for a bit and do some shopping."

"Oh but don't forget to drop by the bakery later though." Luna reminded her. "Your cake supplier made some cupcakes that she wants you to try first so that you can get a sample of what your wedding cake will taste like. You don't need to talk to anyone there, so don't worry. You just need to pick up the cupcakes." She added.

"Great. Thanks, Luna. I'll do that right now." Aria gave the other woman a grateful smile as she bent down to gather her things. "But wait listen, are you sure you three are okay with this? Letting me off the hook and talking to my suppliers?"

"Of course we are." Ginny rolled her eyes at Aria's concern and waved her away. "Go on and get out of here. We'll take care of your afternoon appointments."

"I love you girls so much! I'll see you all later!" Aria smiled at them and gave all three of her friends a quick hug before she grabbed her purse and bustled out of the store. From the muggle streets of London, it didn't take long to walk to the main street leading to the entrance of The Leaky Cauldron. After a friendly nod of greeting at Tom, the innkeeper, she made her way to the entrance leading to Diagon Alley.

* * *

The cake shop where Aria had chosen to make her wedding cake was actually a small, local bakery she had discovered a few years ago.

It wasn't a large store and was actually quite hidden, tucked behind some larger shops but it was easily a favorite among witches and wizards who frequented the place. Aria knew for a fact that a lot of her friends had gotten their wedding cakes here – Hermione included.

"Good morning, Madam Greta!" Aria greeted as she strode into the cake shop, smiling at the owner, the kind, elderly woman who always stood behind the counter.

"Hello, Aria! Good morning, dear!" Madam Greta greeted back, her features lighting up in recognition. "And how's the lovely bride this morning?" She teased.

"A little stressed, but I'm doing quite well." Aria answered easily, chuckling as she walked up to the counter. "Luna mentioned you had something for me today?"

"Oh yes, the cupcakes. Hold on, dear. Let me go and fetch them for you."

Aria stood back and waited as Madam Greta headed inside the shop's kitchen in the back. As she was waiting, Aria heard the shop's entrance doors behind her swing open. More out of instinct than anything else, Aria cast a distracted glance over her shoulder to check out the new customer who had just entered the store.

When she saw _nothing_ and _no one_ behind her, however, Aria frowned and arched an eyebrow, glancing around the small store to check if anyone had actually entered. After a few seconds of silence, a small hand suddenly reached up and began tugging on her dress, causing Aria to jump in startled alarm and glanced down, gaping at the sight of a familiar pair of big green eyes peering right back up at her.

"What in the world—?"

"Hi Aria!"

His young face breaking out into an adorable smile, Scorpius Malfoy blinked up at her stunned expression for a few seconds before he jumped and _glomped_ her, happily attaching himself rather tightly onto Aria's right arm and refusing to let go.

"Scorpius!" Aria finally managed to blurt out after she had regained the use of her voice. "What are you doing here?! Are you by yourself? Where's your father?!"

"I _knew_ it was you! I found you, I found you!" Scorpius exclaimed gleefully, tightening his grip around Aria's arm. "I saw you out on the street and followed you!"

"Merlin's beard! Where did you come from?" Aria scolded him lightly as she sighed in exasperation and reached down, clasping tightly onto the five-year-old's hand. "I'm going to bring you back to your father. He's probably looking for you!"

"We were in Borgin and Burkes buying some stuff when I ran off." Scorpius answered, looking slightly guilty at Aria's words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run from him. But I just really wanted to see you." He told her in a small, tearful voice.

"Oh sweetheart." Aria reached down and ruffled his hair. "I'm sure he would have let you come over and say hello if you just said so." She told him pointedly.

"No, he wouldn't." Scorpius mumbled miserably under his breath.

"Father says I'm not supposed to talk to you until—"

His voice trailed off, and Aria frowned at him, unsettled by his words.

"Not supposed to talk to me until _what,_ Scorpius?" She prodded, leaning down to peer into his face. Unfortunately, before Scorpius could answer her, the doors to the shop swung open again and Aria looked up just in time to see Draco's furious expression before he swooped down on them, grabbing his son by the wrist.

" _You_ are in very serious trouble, young man." He seethed, ignoring the way Scorpius flinched and held tightly onto Aria's hand. "I talk to Mr. Borgin for _ten_ seconds and you run off?! That was very irresponsible, Scorpius!" Draco growled.

"But father, I—"

"Do you know how dangerous that was?! There are reports of kidnappings all the time nowadays! What would have happened if someone snatched you away?! I can't believe – of all the reckless things – Scorpius, I am _very_ angry with you!" Draco continued to rant incoherently, causing his son to slump even lower in his shame.

"Hey now, come on, Malfoy. Don't yell at him so much. He's just a kid, he didn't mean it. Besides, he's here anyway, safe and sound." Aria interjected in a cajoling voice, finally drawing Draco' attention to her for the first time. "Besides, Borgin and Burkes was just across the street, he probably just saw me and ran over. It's not like he got himself lost or anything, give him a break." She tried to smile at him but Draco's expression just hardened at her words and without another word, he grabbed Scorpius' hand from hers and began dragging the child towards the doors.

"Come on, Scorpius. We're leaving right now." He snapped.

"No! I don't want to go!" Scorpius wailed loudly and clamped onto Aria's hand even tighter, nearly causing Aria to lose her balance when Draco began yanking Scorpius towards the doors. Belatedly realizing that the young Malfoy Heir had burst into a nasty, sobbing tantrum, Draco stopped and he cursed, massaging his temples.

"Uhm. Okay, let' see here." Aria tried to speak above Scorpius' cries and knelt down onto the floor beside him. Almost as soon as she had done this, Scorpius launched himself into her arms, burying his crying face into her shoulders and wrapping his tiny arms so tightly around her neck that Aria had to gasp to breathe.

"Er…That was—okay. There, there." She grimaced and patted the 5-year-old's back awkwardly, unsure of what to make of his strange emotional attachment to her. When she looked up to stare questioningly at Draco, however, her confusion only heightened at the tense expression on the Slytherin's features as he watched them.

"Is he okay, Malfoy?"

Seeing the way Aria's eyes narrowed at him, Draco hastily shook off the expression from his face and he managed to give her a slightly apologetic grimace.

"Like I said, he never really grew up with a mother so he's grown ridiculously attached to you for some reason." Draco reasoned in a quiet voice, though strangely, he couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "I'm really sorry about all this, Potter."

He glanced at Scorpius again and sighed before giving her a wry look. "Are you busy?"

"Hmm? Oh… _no_. I'm just here to pick up some sample cupcakes from Madam Greta for my wedding cake. Afterwards, I wanted to just walk around Diagon Alley." Aria answered, wincing when Scorpius' arms seemed to tighten around her neck.

"Well then." Draco's lips quirked upwards into a helpless smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. "Maybe you could join us for a cup of tea? At least until Scorpius calms down enough to let you go." He offered.

"I suppose I could—" Before Aria could answer, they were interrupted when Madam Greta walked back into the front of the shop carrying a box of cupcakes.

"Here you go, dear. Let me know if the cupcakes are too sweet." Madam Greta said as she deposited the small box on the counter. She looked up in mild surprise, however, when she saw the way Scorpius was clinging tightly onto Aria.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Madam Greta exclaimed, her curious expression warming as she flicked her gaze back and forth between Aria and Draco in question.

"Aria, you never introduced me to your fiancé. You two make such a lovely couple." She teased.

"Oh, no, no!" Aria let out an awkward laugh and hastily stood up, reluctantly scooping Scorpius up into her arms when he refused to relinquish his grip on her. "He isn't my fiancé, Madam Greta. He's just a former schoolmate of mine." Laughing nervously, Aria failed to notice the way Draco had flinched at her words. "Anyway, thank you so, _so_ much for the cupcakes. I'll let you know about them tomorrow."

"You do that, dear." Madam Greta nodded and gave her one last smile. She waved as Draco opened the door, letting Aria out of the store. As they walked back out onto the cold street, Aria winced and turned to Draco, giving him a pointed look.

"Are you _paying_ for tea, Malfoy?" She asked wryly.

"That depends." Draco's lips twitched with mirth at her words. "Are you going to share those cupcakes?" He quipped back, causing Aria to laugh in spite of herself.

"Deal." Aria couldn't help but grin at him over Scorpius' shoulder, blushing slightly when Draco gave her a reluctant smile in return. They stared awkwardly at each other for a long moment, unsure of what to say, until Scorpius finally lifted his head from where he was leaning against Aria's shoulder and glared up at his father.

"I'm _cold._ " He scowled grumpily.

"Right." Shaking his head hastily to clear the dazed expression from his face, Draco nodded and gestured to a store a few blocks away. "There's a teashop just a few meters away. We should stay there for a few minutes." He paused and leaned in a little closer to whisper something into her ear. "Plus, they have this hot chocolate drink that always makes Scorpius fall asleep. So you could take off when he does."

Laughing, Aria nodded at his words though she couldn't help but smile as she glanced down at the blonde mane of hair underneath her chin. "In all seriousness, I do think he's a sweet child, Malfoy. It's a shame he never grew up with his mother." She waited until Draco opened the doors to the shop, letting them into the store.

"It's alright. My mother helped me raise him, so it wasn't as bad as you think." Draco explained as they sat across from each other in a small corner booth.

"I'm sorry." Aria's eyes suddenly widened in realization and she glanced worriedly at Scorpius. "Are we allowed to talk about his mother? I'm not sure if—"

"It's fine." Draco gave her a reassuring smirk and shook his head. "I never hid any information about his mother from him, so Scorpius knows all about her."

"He does?" Aria blinked at him in surprise.

"Uh-huh." Scorpius suddenly chimed in as he finally detached himself from Aria and settled into the seat beside her. "Father says my mommy was the prettiest, most beautiful girl he ever met! She's also really strong and brave and smart!" He declared loudly, the pride in his voice causing Draco to give him an amused smile.

"Why did she leave?" Aria asked softly, turning to look at Draco.

"She had gotten very sick _._ " Draco seemed to consider her question for a few moments, his eyebrows fusing together in thought before he answered. "The decision for her to leave was the best and the _only_ option back then." He told her.

"I see." Aria frowned at that, leaning back against her seat. "Then why don't you go after her now? Scorpius obviously misses her very much." She pointed out.

"It's… _complicated._ " Draco lifted his gaze and stared very meaningfully at her, drawing Aria's attention to the sadness that lingered in his gray eyes.

"Although, Scorpius and I _do_ still get to see her sometimes. On those days that we're lucky."

Aria nodded in understanding, looking up and muttering a quick thank you to the waitress who set their drinks out onto the table.

"That's refreshing to hear. Most parents I hear of just refuse to speak about their former spouse to their children."

"Oh, we weren't married." Draco mentioned, dropping his gaze as he began adding sugar and milk to his tea. When Aria blinked at him, he shrugged and decided to clarify. "Scorpius was actually conceived _and_ born during the war, so there wasn't any opportunity for his mother and I to get married. We were together for…more than a year back then before we…decided to go our own separate ways. I took custody of Scorpius. And we haven't really spoken to each other since." He finished.

"That's… _terrible._ " Aria's expression sobered and she immediately regretted her choice of conversation. "I'm so sorry I had to ask. I mean—" She sighed, taking a sip from her tea. "I can't really remember much about the war. Hermione mentioned that the Dark Lord tampered with my memories during the final battle but I heard so many stories about people losing family because of all that's happened."

"It was a very difficult time for most of us." Draco carefully lowered his eyes again, staring intently at his cup of tea as though it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen in his life. "Back then, my father never really quite forgave me when I defected after sixth year. He's in Azkaban right now, serving his sentence."

Laughing bitterly, Draco shook his head and looked up, meeting Aria's gaze. "My mother and I visit him sometimes, but the dementors have driven him crazy."

"I'm so sorry, Draco." Aria whispered, her green eyes dimming with regret and sadness at his words. "I know it was hard for you to betray your father like that." She sighed and reached out across the table, placing her hand on top of his and squeezing his fingers in comfort. Draco's eyes widened slightly at this but he said nothing, his gaze lingering on the way Aria's smaller hand looked against his.

"In fact, I'm sorry about all those horrible thingsI ever said to you back in school. To be honest, I can't even remember why we were rivals in the first place."

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 3** **rd** **Year (1993)** ~~

" _Psst! Potter!"_

 _Flinching at the oh-so-familiar glee she heard in Draco Malfoy's voice, Aria clenched her jaw and stopped in the middle of the corridor in front of the Great Hall. She turned around very slowly, Ron and Hermione in tow behind her, and narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of Draco. He smirked at her from where he stood in front of his gang of Slytherins – Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson._

" _What do you want, Malfoy?" Aria asked in an annoyed, defeated voice._

" _They were saying you fainted on the train on the way here." He commented idly, his features twisted into a sneer as he loomed over her, trying to intimidate her with his advantage in height. "So is that true? You actually fainted?" He drawled._

" _What the hell is it to you, Malfoy?!" Ron shouted, his ears turning red. Glancing at him her, Aria was relieved to see that Hermione was holding Ron back._

" _Oh nothing, it's just…pathetic, I suppose. I mean—" Draco's malicious smile grew as he glanced at the other Slytherins, reveling in their snide laughter. "—you're supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world and all and you just…well, fainted."_

" _Malfoy." Aria dug her fingernails painfully into her palms in an attempt to control her temper and to keep herself from lashing out at the blonde in her fury._

" _Piss. Off."_

" _Ohhh. Big words, Potter. How very eloquent of you." Draco mocked further, taking another step towards her until their faces were merely inches apart. "Is the supposed savior of the wizarding world always this articulate? How unfortunate—"_

" _I said, piss off!"_

" _What are you going to do about it, scarhead—"_

 _Before Draco could finish the rest of his perfectly crafted remark, Aria lunged at him, tackling the tall Slytherin to the floor._

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

In spite of himself, Draco's lips quirked slightly at her words. "We were rivals because you were in Gryffindor, I was in Slytherin, and we couldn't stand the sight of each other." He pointed out, earning a reluctant laugh from Aria at his dry remark.

"Right." Aria chuckled, leaning back against her seat again and folding her hands back onto her lap. Strangely, she missed the warmth of his fingers against hers.

"I remember now. You were always this mean, stupid jerk who strutted around the whole school and tried to bully all the students into doing whatever you wanted."

"Well now you hurt my feelings, Potter." Draco drawled sarcastically.

Aria snorted and gave him a disbelieving look. "You have feelings?"

Draco scowled at her, both adults oblivious to the way Scorpius was now gleefully dumping all of the sugar cubes into his cup of tea. "You know perfectly well that I have feelings, Potter. Especially when you declined my invite in fourth year."

"Fourth year?" Aria rolled her eyes and shook her head at the memory. "Draco, that was _centuries_ ago, I can't believe you remember that." She laughed.

"I was _very_ distraught after your rejection, Potter."

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 4** **th** **Year (1994)** ~~

" _Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing?!" Aria had shrieked in panicked alarm when the blonde Slytherin had accosted her in the middle of the busy hallway outside the potions classroom that morning and began dragging her deeper into the dungeons through a series of twists and turns. Oblivious to Aria's cursing and growls of protest, Malfoy finally stopped when they reached a deserted corridor and turned to face her._

 _Despite the dimly lit hallway, Aria noticed the slight flush in his cheeks._

" _Finally, Potter!" He snapped at her as he released the tight grip he had around her wrist and scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Merlin's beard, do you have any idea how bloody difficult it was to catch you alone these past few days?! Why do you girls always like to travel in packs anyway?! It just makes this entire thing even more bloody annoying for us guys who have to trail after you!"_

 _Aria took in the full meaning of his words and she gaped stupidly at him._

" _Uhm. Okay, Malfoy. What is this really about?"_

 _Blushing at the flabbergasted expression on the Gryffindor's face, Malfoy shoved his hands into his pockets and seemed to fidget uncomfortably for a few seconds before he shook his head and cleared his throat. Then, with a deep breath, he glanced up at Aria again and met her stunned expression with an arrogant smirk._

" _How about I just cut to the chase and make this whole thing much easier for you, Potter? If you say yes now, it'll save us both the trouble." He drawled, chuckling as he leaned against the dungeon wall beside him and gave her a wide cocky smile._

 _"Shall I meet you at 7?"_

 _Aria stared blankly at him, clearly not understanding what he meant._

" _Excuse me?"_

" _Argh, Potter! Stop being daft and just say yes already!" Malfoy shouted angrily at her._

" _Say yes to what?! You didn't ask me anything!" Aria shouted back, her expression creasing with growing annoyance at his obscureness. "Malfoy, you're not making any bloody sense to me right now! Why exactly have you brought me here?!"_

" _You already know!"_

" _No, I don't!"_

 _At her words, the angry expression on Malfoy's face darkened. He gritted his teeth for a few seconds before he finally cursed and gave Aria a murderous glare._

" _Go to the Yule Ball with me, you stupid Gryffindor!"_

" _Okay, wait…what?" Almost instantly, the angry glare on Aria's face vanished and she stared at him again, oblivious to the blood that was rushing into her cheeks._

" _Are you deaf or something, Potter?! Go to the ball with me!"_

" _Malfoy, I'm just a little confused here—"_

" _GO TO THE BALL WITH ME!"_

 _Aria stiffened at the way he had practically shouted at her, and the confused expression on her face quickly melted away until she was glaring indignantly at him._

" _ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME?!"_

" _Ugh! You infuriating woman! Will you just say yes?!"_

" _Wh—What? No!" Growing flustered at the look of annoyance and, strangely enough, genuine disappointment, in Malfoy's expression when he heard her answer, Aria squelched down the strange fluttering in her stomach and glared back at him._

" _First of all, I already have a date to the Yule Ball." Aria pointed out, instantly causing the disappointed expression on his face to flare up with embarrassment._

" _Second of all, if you think that accosting a girl, dragging her to some dark, deserted corridor and then 'yelling' at her constitutes a proper invitation to the Ball, then you've probably been dropped on your head one too many times, Malfoy—"_

" _I get it."_

"— _because there is no way in hell that I am ever going to go with you—"_

" _I said I get it!"_

" _Oh I'm sorry. Are you not used to being rejected, Drakie-poo?"_

" _Oh don't worry about me, Potter._ _I'm used to you rejecting me by now._ _"_

 _Blinking, the rest of Aria's words died a quick death in her throat when she looked up and noticed the way Malfoy's entire expression had shuttered at her words. Feeling a little guilty at the harshness and callousness of her rejection, Aria swallowed and she opened her mouth to apologize but Malfoy scoffed and cut her off._

" _Save it."_

 _He glared at her for a long time, an unreadable look lingering on his face that Aria couldn't quite make out, until eventually, he sneered and began to walk away._

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

"For what it's worth…I'm really sorry about that." Aria offered, biting her lip and giving him an apologetic look. "I could have turned you down in a nicer way."

"It's fine. I probably deserved it." Draco shrugged, fidgeting distractedly with the teacup in his hands. "Like you said, shouting probably wasn't the best way to invite a girl to the Yule Ball. I'm actually surprised you didn't punch me in the face."

"I wanted to." Aria teased, causing Draco to roll his eyes at her.

"You sure didn't look distraught when you asked Pansy Parkinson at dinner that same day." Aria reminded him. "You should be thanking me. I heard from Lavender and Parvati that you even scored that night." She added, making a face.

"Like I said, I was distraught. I needed womanly comfort." He drawled. "And yes, I suppose I should probably thank you. I believe I lost my virginity that night."

"Okay, _ew._ " Aria wrinkled her nose in disdain and shook her head. Gagging, she turned to Scorpius beside her and ruffled his blonde hair. "Scorpius, sweetheart, whatever you do, do _not_ turn out to be like your perverted father okay? He's _gross._ "

Though he looked confused, Scorpius grinned up at her and nodded.

"Father is perverted and gross! I won't end up like him!" He echoed her in a loud voice, causing Draco to sputter in indignation and Aria to burst out laughing.

"Potter, I can't believe you'd poison my own son's mind against me."

"Oh you'll get over it." Aria scoffed at his melodramatics and reached for a cupcake. "If he wants more, I've got loads of stories of your horrible days back in Hogwarts. Do you even remember the time you almost got me expelled in 5th year?"

Surprisingly enough, Draco flinched and hung his head at her words.

"Unfortunately, I do."

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 5** **th** **Year (1995)** ~~

" _There they are, Professor! I told you they were in here!"_

 _The sneer on Draco Malfoy's face was particularly vicious as he, Umbridge and the rest of the Slytherins on the Inquisitorial Squad barged into the Room of Requirement. Caught in the middle of one of their DA sessions, Aria had been helping Neville perfect his stunning spell when the group had barged in, causing the rest of the DA members to curse and scream in alarm at the unexpected intrusion._

" _Miss Potter! Why am I not surprised?" Umbridge's eyes narrowed as she stalked into the room and descended upon Aria like a vulture about to eat its prey._

" _You don't have anything on us. We weren't doing anything wrong!" Hermione raged as she strode forward, pushing past the group until she stood beside Aria._

" _On the contrary, Miss Granger." Umbridge drawled sweetly, the smile on her face growing maniacally with delight. "At the very least, I could have you all expelled and sent to Azkaban. Conspiring against the Ministry is quite a serious offense."_

" _Conspiring against the Ministry? You haven't got any proof." Aria challenged, her expression twisting into a sneer. "If Dumbledore knew what you were doing—"_

" _Silence, Miss Potter!" Umbridge hissed back at her before she glanced over her shoulder at Draco, Pansy and the other sneering Slytherins gathered behind her._

" _Restrain them!" She shrieked._

 _Almost immediately, Aria stumbled and hissed in pain as she found herself dragged and her hands held back by Malfoy's binding spell. When she cursed and struggled wildly against him, Malfoy leaned down to whisper something softly into her ear._

" _Have fun in Azkaban, Potter."_

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

Draco looked up and met Aria's eyes with a solemn, apologetic look.

"I'm sorry."

"It's… _fine._ " Aria whispered back, hastily turning her face away so that he couldn't see the flush of embarrassed red on her pale cheeks. "We were both young, vindictive and stupid. It would be unfair of me to hold a grudge against you for it."

Draco fell silent at that, bowing his head so that some blonde strands fell into his eyes, shielding them from Aria. After a long moment, he spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, well…I've done a lot of young and angry and _stupid_ things in my life so I can't really blame you if you hate me. I was, after all, the one who let the Death Eaters in that night. The night…Dumbledore died." He whispered, sneering bitterly.

It was Aria's turn to fall silent this time as she blinked at him, shocked at the veracity of his admission and the fact their earlier, lighthearted conversation had taken such a dark turn. Beside her, she was relieved to note that Scorpius remained oblivious of what they were talking about and was happily sipping his hot chocolate.

When she finally shook herself out of her shock a few moments later, she sighed but voiced the question lingering in her head. "Why _did_ you join the Death Eaters back then, Draco?" She watched as Draco's shoulders stiffened at her words but he looked up at her, meeting her grim expression. "In 6th year, I mean. You were a mean, obnoxious jerk but you never struck me as the type who'd side with the Dark Lord. In fact, you _never_ struck me as the type to do any of those awful things."

"I was… _confused._ " Draco answered quietly, staring intently at his cup and absentmindedly stirring his tea. "My father had always been a strong supporter of the Dark Lord's cause, and he raised me with the same ideologies. I guess it just…took a while for me to realize that I wasn't like him. And that as much as I love my father, I wasn't going to kill innocent people just for his beliefs." He admitted.

"I thought that was very brave of you." Aria told him, drawing her gaze up and giving him a small, comforting smile. "Not a lot of people can go up against their own father just to do the right thing. You really earned my respect." She said softly.

"It was too late though." Draco answered numbly, shaking his head and looking away. "Dumbledore had already died because of me. It was all my fault."

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Hogwarts 6** **th** **Year (1996) [1]** ~~

 _As Aria pushed past the old, wooden doors leading to a strange deserted tower that evening, she froze when she came upon the sight of a violently sobbing Draco Malfoy teetering dangerously along the ledge of one of the tower's windows. He had his back turned to her and was staring longingly at the ground with a haunted look on his face._

 _Just when it looked as though the Slytherin was about to jump off the ledge, however, he froze at the sound of Aria's panicked voice._

" _Malfoy, what are you doing?!"_

 _Startled, Malfoy flinched and reluctantly turned around, allowing Aria to see his face._

 _He looked terrible– dark circles under his eyes, his hair disheveled, his robes in disarray, and his pale cheeks wet from tears. Her features creasing with concern, Aria moved toward him but immediately stopped when he pointed his wand at her._

 _"S—stay back, Potter! Don't come any closer or I swear I'll jump!"_

 _"Malfoy, I'm not here to hurt you." She swallowed nervously and held both of her hands up to show him that she was unarmed. "I just want to help you, okay?"_

 _She took another tentative step toward him and he raised his wand higher._

 _"I said stay back, Potter!" He screamed._

 _"Okay. I'm sorry." Aria answered as she stopped and stared back at him, meeting his crazed, tear-brightened gray eyes with a calm, reassuring gaze. "I'm not going to take another step until you say I can, alright? I just want to talk, Malfoy."_

 _"M—my name is Draco." He stammered as his shaking fingers tightened around his wand. "Stop calling me by my family name, it doesn't define who I am!"_

 _"Okay, I understand." Aria repeated soothingly, nodding and raising a finger to her lips to get him to calm down. "Draco, is it alright then if you call me Aria?"_

 _When he swallowed but nodded shakily at that, Aria offered him a small smile and took that opportunity to glance around the small, abandoned tower they were in. Eventually, the silence became unbearable for them both and Draco sneered at her._

 _"Wh—what are you still doing in Hogwarts anyway?" He asked, his voice sounding hoarse and raspy._ _"The school year is over. The headmaster is dead." He said flatly._

 _At the harshness of his words, Aria squelched down the angry retort that wanted to spew from her lips and tore her gaze hastily from his._

 _"Kingsley thought it would be safe for me to stay in Hogwarts for awhile. You know, until they can find me a more secure location." She told him, though she didn't dare offer any more information. She knew the Order was very secretive about stuff like this, and more importantly, she wasn't sure yet if she could trust Draco._

 _Fortunately, Draco didn't seem inclined to ask her anything else as he simply nodded at her answer and looked away again, staring at the ledge beneath his feet._

 _In a desperate attempt to distract him from his thoughts, she tried to wrack her brain for any other ways to calm him down enough so that he would climb down from the ledge. Eventually, Aria blurted out the first thing that came to her mind._

" _This is a beautiful tower. How did you come to find it?"_

 _For a minute, Aria was afraid that he wasn't going to participate in her idle chatter but, surprisingly enough, Draco seemed to respond to her distraction easily. Taking a shaky breath, he kept his wand pointed at her and spoke through his sobs._

 _"I—I found it when I was in first year. I've been using it ever since as a secret hiding place w—whenever I didn't want my friends to find me." He admitted quietly._

 _"It's lovely." Aria nodded in understanding as lifted her chin and glanced around the tower, admiring its old style architecture. When he didn't say anything at that, she brought her gaze back to Draco's and she gave him a small, teasing smile._

 _"Well now, I guess I'll always know where to find you."_

 _The fragile expression on Draco's face cleared at that, only to be replaced by a confused look. Curious, his wand lowered slightly and he gave her a blank stare._

 _"What do you mean?" He asked._

 _"You said that you came up here whenever you didn't want your friends to find you." Aria pointed out cheekily, grinning at the irritated expression he gave her._

 _"Unfortunately for you, the person you hate now knows exactly where to find you all the time." She teased._

 _"I don't hate you, Potter." Draco told her quietly._

 _"I thought we were using first names?"_

 _"Fine. I never hated you, Aria." He sighed and lowered his gaze, staring darkly at the floor by his feet. "In all honesty, you should be the one hating me."_

 _The teasing smile on Aria's sobered at that and she stared at him in question._

 _"What makes you say that?" She asked._

 _"B—because!" Draco's face crumpled again as he glared at her, his eyes glassy with tears. "I—it was my fault! I let the Death Eaters into the school! I fixed the cabinet that brought them here, it's my fault they got in! It's my fault that Dumbledore's dead, it's my fault It's all my fucking fault! I should be the one dead!"_

 _"Draco—"_

 _Aria's expression softened and she tried to interrupt him but he went on._

" _I didn't want to, you know! I never wanted to join the Death Eaters! I never wanted to hurt anyone b—but they said they would hurt my parents! I didn't know what else to do, I—I couldn't fight back! I wasn't strong enough! A—and now, Dumbledore is dead b—because of me! There's no chance of winning this war now—"_

" _Draco, listen to me." Aria ignored her earlier promise and took a small step forward, instantly causing the Slytherin to flinch and point his wand at her again._

 _"Don't come any closer, Potter!"_

" _I can help you." She ignored his protests and went on. "You don't have to face the Dark Lord alone. There's still time to make things right." She told him soothingly._

" _Make things right?! How could I possibly make things right?!" He sneered._

" _Take my hand."_

 _Very slowly, Aria raised her hand and offered it to him – an action scarily reminiscent of the very same gesture Draco had once offered to her in first year. This time, however, it was Aria who was staring at him, waiting patiently for the other teen to trust her and place his hand in hers. Several long, awkward minutes of silence passed after that but despite his lack of response, Aria didn't lower her hand._

 _"Take my hand and step down from the ledge, Draco. You don't want to do this. This isn't the solution." She stared imploringly at him. "Just let me help you."_

 _"Take your hand? Help me? Why?" Draco's eyes narrowed and he sneered tauntingly at her, ignoring her panicked expression as he took another backward step along the ledge. "You were the one who refused my offer of friendship years ago. Why the bloody hell do you think I'd accept your help now? I don't need your pity, Potter!"_

 _"I was wrong to have declined your offer of friendship." Aria answered. "And I'm trying to correct that mistake now, Draco. So please, let me help you correct yours. Come on, step down from the ledge. We can talk about this." She soothed._

 _"Why bother?" Draco whispered quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. "Even if I don't jump off, the Dark Lord is going to kill me once he finds out I failed."_

 _"There's a chance he still hasn't found out." Aria offered with a weak smile._

 _"Not likely."_

 _"Well, it's a chance nonetheless, Draco." Aria sighed and took another careful step toward him, careful to keep her reassuring gaze locked onto his. "And frankly, as someone who has lived her whole life based on nothing but a series of chances, this is one that I'm willing to take, especially if it comes at the expense of your life."_

 _"Why do you care so much if I jump or not?"_

 _"I don't want you to die."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because I don't."_

 _"Do you hate me, Aria?"_

 _Startled at the unexpected poignancy of his question, Aria blinked a couple of times and stared at him, completely drawn in by the brokenness and desperation she saw in his expression. When she couldn't seem to think of an answer, Draco mistook her silence as condescension and his shoulders slumped in exhausted defeat._

" _You did a lot of horrible things, Draco."_

 _Aria held her hand out to him again, never once breaking their eye contact._

" _But I never hated you."_

~~ **End of Flashback** ~~

* * *

"Draco, about that." Aria reached out across the table and placed her hand on top of his again.

"That night I woke up in St. Mungo's and started screaming at you and blaming you for Dumbledore's death. I'm so sorry. I just wasn't thinking straight."

She interlaced their fingers tightly together.

"I don't remember any of it but Ron and Hermione told me about all the things you did to help the Order of the Phoenix during the war. Based on what they said, I doubt we could have defeated Voldemort without your help. Thank you." Aria mentioned in a quiet voice, frowning when she felt a strange, heavy feeling seeping into her chest. When he didn't say anything, she took a deep breath and continued.

"Also, I meant to talk to you about something else." She saw the questioning look Draco gave her and she continued. "They… _Hermione…_ also told me about how it was _you_ who gave me the counter curse to the dark memory curse that Voldemort's dementors cast on me. That was probably the reason you were there in my room in the hospital that night I woke up?" Aria bit her lip as she waited for his response.

When Draco seemed to hesitate at her words, she decided to press further. "I really want to… _apologize._ The way I reacted that night was completely out of line. I almost attacked you, and you were only trying to help me. I'm really so very sorry."

"It's fine, Aria." He whispered, staring intently at his cup of tea.

A long moment of tense, awkward silence followed after that, and both Draco and Aria distracted themselves by watching Scorpius happily reaching for his third cupcake, completely oblivious to his father's sudden change of mood. Finally, when the silence became too unbearable, Draco sighed and decided to change the subject.

"So…Uhm. How're the wedding preparations coming along?" He managed to force out, hastily drawing his hand away from hers and shoving them into his pocket.

"Oh." Aria blinked at him for a few seconds, surprised at the sudden change of topic. "It's _great_. It's all coming together. The funny thing is, I never actually thought I'd ever get married. It was something that I was never really prepared for."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked curiously, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh. Well, it's just that—" Rolling her eyes at herself, Aria chuckled and took another sip of her tea. "—I was never really good with long term relationships. Hermione actually jokes about it all the time. She said I had a problem with commitment and kept pushing people away." Aria laughed at that and made a face.

To her surprise, instead of judging her or taking advantage of her admission by making a nasty comment about it, Draco just chuckled and offered her a shrug.

"I was never good with relationships either." He agreed, leaning back against his seat with a smirk. "I don't even think I've had a proper relationship in 5 years."

"I doubt that." Aria countered, scoffing at him. "You were a regular Casanova back in Hogwarts, Malfoy. Are you trying to tell me you haven't dated in 5 years?!"

"You misunderstood me, Potter." Draco drawled wryly, looking amused at her words. "I said I never had a proper _relationship_ in 5 years. I _did_ have a few flings here and there, of course. Nothing really serious." When Aria arched an eyebrow at him, he chuckled and went on. "Of course, _my_ excuse is that my son has always been my number one priority, and so I wasn't looking for any serious relationship."

"That make sense, I suppose. But what was my excuse?" Aria grumbled to herself, sinking lower in her seat. "I was never really good at dating to begin with."

"Not bad enough, apparently. If that ring is anything to go by." Draco pointed out, staring at her ring. When Aria glanced at him, he quickly tore his gaze away.

She sighed to herself at that and raised her hand, tilting her head to the side as she gazed at the sparkling, 5-carat diamond ring that adorned her left ring finger.

"I suppose so."

"Having second thoughts?" He asked quietly.

Aria blinked and looked up when she realized that the lighthearted tone of Draco's voice had disappeared. Before she could answer him, however, they both noticed that, in the middle of their conversation, Scorpius had fallen asleep, his cheek resting against Aria's shoulder. Coughing, Draco hastily tore his gaze away from Aria and he gestured impatiently to the waitress across the shop for their bill.

"Anyway, thanks for entertaining my son's attachment to you, Potter." Draco glanced at Aria again after handing the waitress the payment for their drinks. "I should probably take him home now before he wakes up and starts crying again."

"It's no problem at all, Malfoy." Aria answered as she and Draco both stood up, and Aria deposited Scorpius carefully back into Draco's arms. Unfortunately, the minute Scorpius realized that he was being separated from her, his eyes snapped awake instantly. Before Draco even reached the exit of the shop, he began to cry.

"Why are we leaving?! Father, why isn't she going home with us?!"

"Scorpius!" Draco's eyes widened in alarm and he tightened his arms around him again when Scorpius began wailing and reaching desperately for Aria. "Scorpius, Aria has to go home now and so do we, okay? Your grandmother is waiting for you."

"No! But why can't she go home with us?!" Scorpius whimpered, his features crumpling heartbrokenly as he began to cry. "She doesn't remember! She really doesn't remember me, Father!" He sobbed quietly so that Aria wouldn't hear him.

"Look, Potter." Draco cursed under his breath and let out a heavy sigh. He readjusted Scorpius' sobbing form in his arms and reached up, gently stroking the young blonde's hair in comfort. "I really hate to ask you for another favor but…Would you like to come with us to the Manor and join us for dinner?" When Aria seemed too shocked by his invitation to say anything, Draco hastily added. "I swear, once I get this little brat to sleep, you'll be free to go and I promise that I won't ever bother you again. Plus, my mother will be there, and she's really been hoping for a chance to thank you properly for that time you spoke for us during the Death Eater Trials."

"Uhm…Malfoy, I don't know if that's such a good idea." Aria hesitated and glanced at her wristwatch. "I did mention before how it was okay that Scorpius seems to be so attached to me but I _do_ think that it's getting out of hand. I mean, the kid barely even _knows_ who I am. Frankly, I don't think this is healthy for him. Perhaps the best way to deal with it is _distance,_ not encouraging it even further—"

" _Please._ " Draco interrupted as he stared pleadingly at her over Scorpius' shoulder. He winced when Scorpius' cries grew even louder, the young Malfoy Heir's shoulders trembling violently as harsh, shaky sobs seemed to wrack his tiny frame.

"Please, Aria." Tightening his arms around his son, Draco swallowed audibly and met Aria's gaze again. "My son, he's…He's all I have. And I can't stand seeing him like this." He whispered softly, and Aria thought she caught the way his voice trembled as he spoke. "You don't even have to stay long, just…please just be there until he falls asleep. It'll be easier for him to pretend that you were a dream than for him to see you leave. Please, just…I'll do anything." He stammered incoherently.

Looking up and seeing the pained, almost desperate expression on Draco's face, Aria felt her expression soften at the genuine concern and love for his son that she heard in his voice. Sighing, Aria massaged her temples in defeat and nodded.

"I'll stay with him until he falls asleep."

* * *

"How are the wedding preparations going, dear? I read from Witch Weekly that you're marrying into the Flint family? Their family is related to ours, you know."

At the older woman's words, Aria looked up from her plate of half-eaten salad and managed a smile at Narcissa Malfoy across the table.

Seated beside his mother, Draco had been strangely quiet ever since he and Aria had arrived in Malfoy Manor.

"It's going wonderfully, Mistress Malfoy. Thank you for asking. Austin actually did mention a couple of times that they're related to your family [2]." Aria would have said more but she was distracted when Scorpius, who was seated beside her, accidentally tipped his bowl of soup over just as he was reaching across the table for a treacle tart. Before either Draco or Narcissa could even react, Aria had already waved her wand over the scalding hot liquid before it could trickle onto Scorpius' lap.

When he realized what had happened, Scorpius beamed up at her and happily reattached himself to her arm while gulping down his entire goblet of pumpkin juice.

Narcissa eyebrow arched and there was a strange look on her face after she witnessed the entire scene but she didn't say anything, nodding in acknowledgment at Aria's response. "If you don't mind my asking dear, when is the big wedding?"

"In 2 weeks." Aria responded, chuckling in spite of herself when she saw the smudge of chocolate on Scorpius' chin.

She reached over and used her own napkin to wipe the smudge off the five-year-old's face, causing the blonde to blink in surprise before he looked up and rewarded her with an adorable smile. Amused at his reaction, Aria's eyes softened and she returned his smile before turning back to glance at Narcissa.

"All the wedding planning these past months has been such a blur actually. It's even made me neglect Quidditch!" She admitted with a laugh.

"You're my grandson's favorite Quidditch player, did he tell you?" Narcissa commented, chuckling when she glanced fondly at Scorpius. "It's quite adorable. He has all sorts of posters, figurines and memorabilia of you in his room." She added.

"Yes, so I've heard." Aria answered wryly before she promptly changed the subject and turned to address Draco. "So, Draco. I never had the chance to ask you – what have you been doing these past 5 years?" She asked, taking a sip of water.

"You mean aside from taking care of Scorpius?" Draco quipped, chuckling. "I work in the Ministry of Magic as a Junior Warlock in the Wizengamot." He answered.

"Wow. That's really impressive _._ " Aria stared at him in surprise.

Draco shrugged and poked idly at his salad to hide the blush on his face.

"It caught _me_ by surprise too, dear." Narcissa chimed in with a chuckle. "I never would have guessed he'd go through with it. I always assumed he'd follow in the footsteps of his father. I guess the year of the war really changed him." She said.

"The year of the war?" Aria prodded further.

"The year that Scorpius was born, of course." Narcissa clarified, ignoring the warning look Draco gave her. "After sixth year, he just started disagreeing more and more with his father. Until finally, one day, he decides to tell us that he's joined the Order of the Phoenix." Her voice choked up, and Draco sighed, covering his face with his hands. "After the war, he grew into his own person. I was so proud of him then."

Blinking, Aria turned to glance slowly at Draco again, mildly amused at the way Draco was awkwardly trying to avoid her eyes. After a long moment, their eyes met again and Aria smiled at him, inadvertently causing him to blush and look away.

"What changed?" Aria asked curiously.

At her question, Draco just shrugged and resumed picking at his food.

"Things were _different._ " He offered.

"How so?" Aria blinked at him.

Draco sighed and lifted his gaze again, giving her a small, crooked smile. "It's different when you want to be _better_ for another person. The feeling inspires you. _Moves_ you and makes you do things that you never knew you could." He whispered.

Unaware of the sad, tender expression on Narcissa's face as she watched them, the confusion in Aria's eyes cleared and she nodded slowly in understanding.

"But then she left, huh?" She whispered in a sad, quiet voice.

"Oh, I know she'll be back." Draco shifted his gaze to Scorpius, watching him munch happily on another treacle tart. "We'll both wait as long as it takes for her."

* * *

"—but the third brother was the most humble, and from Death, he simply asked something that would make him disappear. And so, Death handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility. After this, Death stepped aside and let the three brothers—"

Aria paused in the middle of her story when she noticed the sudden weight on her left shoulder. She glanced down, smiling in spite of herself when she saw that, in the middle of her reading him his favorite nighttime story, Scorpius had finally fallen asleep. Careful not to wake him, Aria eased slowly out from underneath the covers. After disentangling herself from him, she tucked him back under his thick blankets.

"Good night, kid." Aria whispered softly.

Scorpius let out an adorable yawn, shifting a few times before he snuggled happily against his pillow. As Aria bent down and gave him a kiss on the forehead, Scorpius smiled in his sleep and subconsciously buried deeper under the blankets.

"Good night, Mommy." He murmured.

Aria froze at that, her eyes growing wide as she stared at him for a couple of seconds.

Finally, as she watched his chest rising and falling gently while he slept, her features softened and she managed a small, sad smile.

She stroked his hair affectionately before she switched the lights off and strode out of the room.

Just as she was pushing her way out from the huge double doors of Scorpius' bedroom, she chanced upon the sight of Draco watching her from where he had propped his shoulder against the hallway. For some reason, the Slytherin had a very strange and tender expression on his face as he watched her walking toward him.

"Is something wrong?" Aria asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"N—no, nothing." Draco coughed and shook his head. He reached up and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, thank you for doing this, Potter. I'm sorry this took up your entire day, I'll keep him steer clear of you from now on—"

"No. That's okay." Aria surprised herself when she cut him off with an embarrassed smile. "Don't do _that._ Like I said, he's a wonderful kid. I just think his attachment to me is a little misplaced. I'm certain that it'll fade when he gets older."

Draco chose not to say anything at that. Instead, he nodded and, once Aria had stepped out of Scorpius' room, he closed the doors gently behind them. As soon as they were back out in the hallway, Draco met her gaze again and smirked at her.

"Would you like a drink before you leave?" He asked.

"Um." Aria hesitated and stole a quick glance at her watch. "I don't know. It's pretty late; I should get back to my flat. Besides, I don't want to impose anymore—"

"Don't worry so much, Potter." Draco waved her concerns aside and ignored her reservations as he took her arm and led her down the hall to one of the sitting rooms. "Just one drink. You can tell me all about this oh-so-perfect fiancé of yours."

"Austin's hardly perfect, Malfoy." Aria remarked with a scoff, inadvertently misinterpreting the bitterness in Draco's voice as mockery as she followed him into a moderately sized sitting room. Refusing to meet her eyes, Draco led her to the corner to where a mini-bar was situated and began tinkering with a few glasses and bottles of liquor behind the counter. "We have our ups and downs, just like any other relationship." Taking the glass of scotch that Draco had poured for her, she nodded at him in gratitude and settled herself onto one of the stools in front of the counter.

"Is that so?" Draco took a glass of scotch for himself and then leaned against the counter, staring intently at his drink as he sloshed the liquid around in his glass.

"How long were you and Flint together before he proposed?" He asked quietly.

"About seven months." Aria answered, taking a sip from her drink as she pondered his question. "Austin and I are close, and we have a lot of fun together."

"From what I read in the newspapers, you two were pretty serious about each other." Draco mentioned in a casual tone of voice and studied her reaction carefully.

"Not at first." She admitted, her eyes looking slightly glazed as she lost herself in her own thoughts. "I didn't actually expect him to ask me to marry him."

"Why not?"

"Well, because…Austin and I never really talked about marriage or children or settling down. To be completely honest, it was almost always fun and games. I never expected him to propose." Aria admitted with a nervous laugh, shaking her head.

"So why _are_ you marrying him?"

Startled at the bluntness of his question, Aria snapped out of her daze and glared at him for several seconds, growing angry and embarrassed at his audacity.

"I beg your pardon?" She stammered.

"Why are you marrying him if you're not serious about him?" Draco mocked.

If possible, the blush on Aria's face darkened and she sputtered for a few seconds as she tried to form a possible response to his question. Draco just blinked and stared back calmly at her, his face neutral as he took another sip of his drink.

"And who said I wasn't serious about him?!" She retorted angrily.

"You did. About five seconds ago." Draco pointed out, smirking as he raised his glass of scotch to his lips and took another sip. "I read stuff about you, you know. From the Prophet. You hear all sorts of stories about the legendary heroine of the wizarding world and all of her excitingly torrid affairs." He drawled sarcastically.

"I can guarantee you that the Prophet's version of _each_ and _every_ single one of those 'torrid' love affairs of mine were much more exciting than what actually happened." Aria muttered back, fidgeting in embarrassment as she downed the rest of her drink. "As I recall, my love life was always more complicated through the eyes of a gossip columnist. They amaze me with their flair for drama." She said wryly.

Draco arched an eyebrow at her in disbelief. He settled onto the stool across from hers and poured them both another round of scotch. "If I remember correctly, all your relationships were pretty well-publicized. Are you saying they weren't real?"

"Oh no, they were real." Aria admitted grudgingly, taking another sip of her drink. "Four failed relationships in five years, to be exact. One of them cheated on me, two accused me of being _'emotionally unavailable',_ and the last one broke up with me when I refused to move to America with him." She snorted and set her glass down, leaning back against her seat. "I guess I _am_ really horrible at commitment."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm terrible at relationships too." Draco remarked quietly, looking up and giving her a rueful smile. "After Scorpius' mother, the longest 'relationship' I've ever had with a woman was one week, maybe two." He drawled.

Seeing her amused reaction, Draco rolled his eyes and poured them both another round of drinks. "Don't laugh, Potter. It's not easy to date around when you have a 5-year-old son to look after all the time." He growled, causing her to smile.

"No, I can't imagine it is." She agreed.

Neither of them spoke for a long time after that, both perfectly content to stare off into empty space as they finished their drinks in calm, comfortable silence. It was only a half hour later when, as Aria set her glass back down onto the counter and watched Draco pouring her more, she realized that she had lost track of the number of glasses she had actually consumed. Frowning, Aria squinted a couple of times and shook her head, hastily trying to clear the drunken haze from her mind.

"Was the room spinning this much awhile ago?" She slurred.

Fortunately, Draco didn't seem bothered by her drunkenness and downed another glass. Aria glanced at him and she finally voiced the question in her head.

"I just have to ask this, Malfoy." She waited until his eyes were locked with hers before she went on. "Who exactly was Scorpius' mother anyway?" She asked.

Aria wasn't sure if she imagined it – but she could have sworn that Draco's expression completely shuttered at her question. He tore his eyes away, staring intently at the floor beside his feet. When he didn't speak for a long moment, Aria assumed he had forgotten her question, but eventually, he answered in a soft voice.

"Someone I met back in Hogwarts."

"Oh, do I know her? What's her name? What was she like?" Aria prodded, swaying slightly as she felt the effects of the alcohol beginning to cloud her senses.

"Bloody gorgeous." Draco smirked.

"I figured." Rolling her eyes at his typical male response, Aria scoffed and took another sip of her drink. "Where else could your son have inherited his looks?"

"Screw you."

"What's her name?"

"You wouldn't remember her, Potter." Draco answered as he bowed his head, causing several blond strands to fall into his eyes. "We fell in love during the war."

Frowning, Aria couldn't help but suspect that Draco had deliberately avoided answering her questions on purpose. Before she could comment on it, however, Draco spoke again, and his next question managed to stun Aria into utter silence.

"Are you just forcing yourself to marry Flint?"

Blinking a couple of times to make sure she had heard him right, Aria stared at him in righteous anger. When she finally found the voice to speak, she clenched one of her hands into a tight fist and slammed it angrily against the wooden counter.

"What the bloody hell do you mean by that, Malfoy?" She growled.

"I doubt there's any other way to interpret my question." Draco drawled, completely undaunted by the furious expression on Aria's face. "Do you really want to get married to him? You don't look like you're happy that you're getting married."

"What would you know?! Of course I'm happy!" Aria snapped, shooting him an indignant glare. "The wedding is in 2 weeks! I'm not about to get cold feet _now_!"

"The look on your face says otherwise." Draco pointed out, ignoring her anger as he raised his glass and took another long swig of his drink. "Every time you have to talk about your fiancé, your expression shuts off." He glared accusingly at her.

"That's not true, Malfoy!" Aria snapped, slamming her empty glass back down noisily onto the counter. "Stop trying to pretend as though you know me, Malfoy. We've been enemies for what?! More than 10 years?!" She scoffed and finally scrambled to her feet in her outrage. As she did this, however, she swayed for a few seconds in confusion and grabbed at her stool in an attempt to regain her balance.

"Potter." Noticing her unsteady movements, Draco stood up and reached a hand out to steady her, causing Aria to glare at him and angrily swat his hand away.

"Get your hands off me, Malfoy. I don't need this shit." With that, Aria whirled around, fully intending to storm out of the room when she accidentally swayed again, causing Draco to reach both of his hands out and grasp her waist to steady her.

"Why are you so mad about what I said? Did I strike a nerve when I said you didn't want to marry your fiancé? It is because I was right?" Draco sneered at her.

"Mind your own damn business!" Aria growled at him.

"Aria, calm down—"

"No, don't tell me to calm down!" Aria exploded, her eyes suddenly growing wide and frantic as she stared at him in disbelief. "I just realized how absolutely _crazy_ this whole thing is!We're supposed to hate each other, and yet here I am in your house, eating dinner with you and your mother, tucking your 5-year-old son into bed and reading him bedtime stories! None of this makes any sense!" She blurted out, much to Draco's chagrin as he winced and shook his head frantically.

"I know it doesn't, and I wish more than anything that it did—"

"Then why do I feel like you're lying to me?!" Aria demanded, struggling wildly against him when Draco tried to push her back down into her seat. She shoved his hands away and glared suspiciously up at him, trying to gauge the pained expression on his face. "Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?!"

"Aria, listen—"

"Stop calling me that!" She snapped.

"That's your name, isn't it?!" Draco retorted, sneering at her.

"Yes, but you _never_ called me that!" Aria screeched. "This is crazy! I don't even know why I'm here, Malfoy. I shouldn't be here, I—I should…I should just go—"

"Aria, listen to me." Despite the way his pale cheeks were flushed from his obvious inebriation, Draco's tight grip around her waist was surprisingly strong. He wrapped both arms around her struggling figure and pulled her against him, pressing her body against his and leaning down so that his forehead pressed against hers.

"You don't want to marry him." He whispered softly.

"Malfoy, why do you care?!" Aria squinted through the haze of bright lights and spinning furniture around her and lifted her chin, meeting his drunken gray eyes.

"B—because." Draco swallowed the painful lump in his throat to clear the shakiness from his voice, his fingers tightening around her waist. "It was _us,_ Aria. It was supposed to be _us!_ B—but you _forgot_ and seeing you here now…It brings back all of these memories of us and I can't take it anymore! Please, try to remember—"

"Malfoy, let go of me!" Aria blurted out, struggling wildly to push him off.

"You still don't remember anything?" Draco asked quietly as he reached up, cupping her cheek and using the same gesture to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You really don't remember anything at all? About me? About us? About _this?"_

His voice broke before he leaned in and swiftly captured Aria's lips in a hard, rough kiss, catching the Gryffindor completely off her guard as she nearly stumbled backwards from the force of his advances. Blinking rapidly, Aria struggled to cling onto his shoulders as Draco all but cornered her against the counter, his mouth placed firmly on hers and his tongue plowing its way through her lips into her mouth with such strange, tender familiarity. Before Aria even realized what she as doing, her lips automatically parted even further, welcoming his sweet invasion into her mouth and her hands climbed up his shoulders, wrapping slowly around his neck.

Draco took her reaction as an invitation and his hands slid down from her waist to her hips, caressing downwards until the back of her knees. In her dazed, drunken state, it only took a few more seconds of silent urging on Draco's part before Aria gasped into his mouth and allowed him to lift her upwards so that she was sitting on top of the counter, her legs wrapping intimately around his waist.

Aria let out an impassioned moan at the contact between their heated bodies and arched against him, pressing herself closer to his chest and causing him to shudder. Breaking his mouth away from hers, Draco leaned down and began trailing a path of biting kisses down her neck. He paused once his lips had reached her pulse point and leaned in closer, pressing his nose against her neck and inhaling her scent.

"Aria." He whispered achingly.

His lips traced a hungry, arduous path from her mouth all the way down to her clavicle, where he nipped and licked at her skin. Before she could help herself, Aria heard another moan escape her and before long, the screaming protests of her own voice inside her head were drowned out by the alcohol and lust dulling her senses. She clung onto him tightly, nails digging into his shoulders as she tilted her chin and caught his lips, gasping when he ground his arousal impatiently against her.

"Draco." She whispered breathlessly as she broke her mouth from his and closed her eyes, barely noticing the fact that he was lowering her body slowly until her back was pressed against the counter, her legs still wrapped wantonly around his waist and his chest draped over hers. Dazed and lost in the sweet, aching feeling of the way his lips sucked against the pulse point of her neck – the way he seemed to be so well-acquainted with every single sensitive area and erogenous zone of her body – Aria was _gone._ Her senses exploded, filling her entire body with heat as she pressed closer against him, causing him to groan as he bit her shoulder in retaliation.

"Gods, I want you." He rasped out as he ground his hips against hers again, sending a thrill down Aria's spine as her legs locked tighter around his waist, urging him even closer. His hands fumbled clumsily to unclasp the buttons of her blouse.

"I've _always_ wanted you."

As his hands slid the straps of her top off her shoulders, Draco bent down, kissing the newly exposed skin before his hand slipped under her bra and cupped her breast. They heard a loud crash when their empty bottle of scotch had fallen to the floor but neither of them seemed to care. Instead, Aria's hands furiously dived down, unbuttoning his pants and divesting him of his belt. No other words were exchanged as each individual article of clothing was listlessly discarded and Aria could only bite back a whimper when Draco took her with very little preliminaries, entering her in one greedy thrust and joining their flushed bodies together. As she gasped and clung to him, gripping onto his shoulders, he clenched his eyes and stopped, leaning down and resting his forehead tenderly against hers as he sought to catch his rapid breath.

"Aria, look at me."

Her green eyes heavy-lidded with lust, Aria blinked a couple of times and slowly lifted her gaze to look at him. It took her awhile to realize, however, that the strange look on Draco's face was not lust or passion but instead, he was _crying._ Tears had pooled in his gray eyes, making them look like molten pools of silver as he stared down at her, looking as though he was trying to memorize each and every single detail of her face. Unsure of what to say, Aria stared back at him in concern and reached a hand up to cup his cheek, using her thumbs to brush the tears away.

"What's wrong?" She whispered.

Draco didn't answer.

Instead, he reached both of his hands up and caught hers, intertwining their fingers together tightly before pinning them above her head. With their bodies still joined, he leaned in, caught her parted lips in a deep, slow kiss and began to move slowly, thrusting in and out of her in a way that Aria could only describe as _beautiful._

She whispered his name softly and he responded by breaking their kiss with a groan, leaning down to bite, lick and suck hungrily at her breasts. At this, Aria felt another surge of lust and she began moving her hips in time with his, urging him to go faster, deeper and harder. Strangely enough, Draco seemed to understand her unspoken request and sped up, releasing her hands so that he gripped her waist with bruising force, yanking her against him in time with his thrusts. Her hands free, Aria wrapped them around his shoulders and held on tightly, clenching her eyes when his thrusts picked up even more and the counter began rocking noisily at the movement.

"G—gods… _Draco!_ Please…I—I can't—"

Another sharp, desperate moan forced itself out of her parted lips when he bit down onto her skin and thrust deeply into her, hitting a particularly sensitive spot and causing Aria to dig her fingernails deeper into his back. Draco responded by re-attaching his lips to her neck, kissing that secret little spot just behind her left ear and causing Aria to gasp out loud again, her body shivering in mindless pleasure.

"D—Draco… _Please._ "

She began to sob and plead desperately, but for what, she wasn't sure.

"Shhh. I know, love. I'll give it to you, I promise. " He whispered against her neck, sinking his teeth painfully against her skin until he drew blood.

"Oh… _oh gods!"_

"Hold onto me."

Aria's nails scraped themselves against Draco's shoulder before she arched up against him, tightened her legs around his waist and _screamed,_ her entire body trembling and convulsing with violent shivers of her release. Gritting his teeth, Draco drove into her one last time before his eyes slammed shut and he let out a harsh grunt, burying his face into her neck as he came, releasing all of himself inside her.

Gasping, he collapsed against her, their flushed bodies still joined together as they fought to regain their breath.

Just before her consciousness gave out, her eyelids growing heavy with drunken, sated exhaustion, Draco dropped a tender kiss onto her hair.

"You'll know where to find me."

* * *

 **Notes:**

[1] This was a few days after Dumbledore's death. Everything that happened after this particular memory of Aria's was erased.

[2] I imagined Aria's fiancé, Austin Flint, to be a cousin of Marcus Flint, who was a former Slytherin in Hogwarts. I assumed that the Flints related to the Malfoys in some way since they're also one of those stuck-up pureblooded families in Wizarding England.


	3. Chapter 3

**You'll Know Where to Find Me**

 **Summary:** Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers, and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago.

 **Author:** slytherin-nette

 **Pairing:** Draco Malfoy / fem Harry Potter

 **Genre:** Romance / Drama

 **Rating:** M

 **Warnings:** Semi-AU, Post-DH. Spoilers from all seven books. Mature themes.

 **Notes:** Chapter 3 of 3.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Wincing, Aria squinted her eyes open that morning regretting the sheer stupidity of what she had done.

If the hangover she was feeling wasn't bad enough, as she glanced at the sleeping person beside her under the silk comforters, she felt a pang of shame when she remembered that she had just cheated on her fiancé – _2 weeks before their wedding_ \- by having a drunken one-night stand with her former rival.

 _What the hell am I doing?_ She thought, suddenly disgusted with herself.

Aria sat up slowly, hugging the blankets to her chest, and glanced at Draco beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the Slytherin was still fast asleep. Biting her lip, she began edging away from him on the bed, blushing darkly as hundreds of intimate images of what transpired between them flooded her mind.

Unfortunately, it hadn't ended at what happened in the sitting room.

Despite her hazy recollection of last night, Aria recalled how, after Draco had carried her to bed and tucked her under the covers beside him, _she_ had been the one to initiate another intimate tussle between them that had lasted until the wee hours of morning. Unlike what had happened between them in the sitting room, however, _this_ one was more drawn out – with the both of them lingering endlessly over each other's body under the covers until they had collapsed in exhaustion, their bodies still intertwined.

Every single part of Aria's body still tingled at the memory.

 _I was supposed to put Scorpius to sleep, not sleep with his father! What the hell, Potter?! This is an entirely new level of sluttiness, even for you._

She scolded herself angrily, shaking her head as she remembered the way she had been so responsive to Draco's advances – particularly the way every part of her body had reacted to Draco in ways that Aria never realized it could given her past boyfriends. As unsettling as that was, Aria could have sworn that with the way Draco touched her last night, it was almost as though he knew _exactly_ how her body would respond. Of course, her traitorous body had given in to him like an animal in heat.

 _Austin is never going to forgive me._

She felt wretched, guilty, and utterly ashamed of herself.

 _Why do I sabotage every single long-term relationship I have?_

Blinking rapidly, she bit her lip and slowly turned to glance at the person to her right again, wincing when a shirtless Draco shifted and reached his arm out to wrap it snugly around her waist, drawing her against him. Shaking her head, Aria ignored the heat rushing into her cheeks as she slowly began to ease herself out from his arm, careful not to jostle the stray limb as she moved away from him.

Miraculously, she somehow managed to extract herself from the Slytherin without waking him. Taking another deep breath, Aria stood up and carefully began to collect her clothes, gathering them into her arms. As she glanced around the familiar room, however, she realized to herself that they were in Draco's bedroom.

How she knew that, however, Aria wasn't quite as sure.

 _Okay focus, Aria. Focus! You have to get out of here before he wakes up!_ Aria chastised herself, shaking her head as she rushed to his closet and began wrestling herself back into her clothes. As soon as she was dressed, she stepped back out of the closet and glanced around the bedroom again, looking for the rest of her things.

She found them on the tall dresser beside the door and moved hastily toward it, keeping her footsteps light along the carpeted floors so as to not make any noise. Just as she reached up to grab her bag, however, a framed photograph beside it caught her eye. Without thinking, Aria idly picked it up and held it up to the light.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize what exactly she was staring at, but slowly, _very slowly,_ she began to recognize the people in the picture and the minute she did, her eyes widened and a sharp gasp escaped her lips. The photograph slipped from her hands, falling noisily down to the floor. Unaware of the fact that Draco had stirred behind her at the sound, her cheeks flushed as she knelt down and snatched the photo again, holding it up and staring at it with stunned, horrified eyes.

 _I don't understand._

Aria couldn't breathe, both of her feet rooted firmly to the ground.

There, in her hands, was an exquisitely framed, magical photograph of Draco and a woman whom Aria could only assume to be Scorpius' mother.

They were both wearing Hogwarts scarves – one Gryffindor, one Slytherin – and they were smiling at each other, with Scorpius as a sleeping infant cradled lovingly in his mother's arms. When Aria gasped and frantically began shaking her head in denial, however, the young, black-haired woman in the picture smiled and waved at her, allowing her to see her own green eyes shining back at her with love and genuine happiness.

 _No._

Aria suddenly felt nauseous as all of her blood drained out of her face.

 _That can't be…That…That doesn't make any sense!_

Shaking her head frantically, Aria took another shaky step backwards, stifling a scream when she inadvertently crashed into a warm, firm chest behind her.

Swallowing painfully, she whirled around, staring up at Draco's worried, ashen features.

"Aria, please listen to me." His hand shook as he reached out and gently took the framed photograph from her hand, setting it back down onto the dresser. "I know you're confused and scared and everything doesn't seem to make sense but I _promise—"_ He paused and reached for her again, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"—I'm not here to hurt you." He squeezed her shoulders gently, trying to reassure her. "I can explain everything but you have to calm down and trust me—"

Gasping for breath and frantically shaking her head, Aria ignored Draco's attempts to placate her, yanked her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at him.

"Legilimens!"

* * *

~~ **Flashback: Summer after 6** **th** **Year (1997)** ~~

" _I thought I'd find you sulking in here again."_ _Aria stood by the entrance to the deserted tower that afternoon and stared at Draco's stiff form by the window._

 _When he didn't answer, Aria sighed and leaned against the entrance archway, crossing her arms over her chest._

" _Don't listen to any of them." She offered._

" _Well I see them everyday, Potter. It's kind of hard not to." Draco retorted sarcastically as he scoffed and turned away from her, glaring down at the beautiful view from the window. "Besides, I'm used to it. I don't think any of the members of the Order of the Phoenix trust me. They all still blame me for Dumbledore's death."_

 _Unsure of what else to say, Aria shrugged and tried to console him._

" _Of course they don't."_

 _When Draco blinked and arched an eyebrow at her obvious lie, Aria cringed and offered him a sheepish grin._

 _"Alright, so maybe some of them still blame you. But give them some time to get used to you first. You've only joined a month ago."_

 _Draco didn't answer her and Aria's face fell when he stared off into nothing again, obviously deep in thought. After a long moment of considering her words, Draco sneered to himself and imitated her position by crossing his arms over his chest, leaning one shoulder against the wall for support._

" _My father will never forgive me. Not for this." He mentioned softly, shaking his head and shooting a grim look at Aria's reaction. "To him, loyalty to your family should come before all else. And what I did…Joining the very organization that imprisoned him…" Draco sighed softly and lowered his miserable gaze to the floor._

 _Aria moved toward him, stopping a few inches away from where he stood by and leaning against the wall of the window opposite from his. She followed his gaze and stared out the same window in peaceful silence, admiring the view of Hogwarts castle outside._

 _It was only after Draco spoke a few minutes later that Aria realized that the Slytherin had been staring rather intently at her the whole time._

" _Aren't you ever scared of what'll happen during the war?" He whispered._

 _Averting her gaze back to the window, Aria nodded without hesitation and sighed, wrapping her thick cloak tighter around herself when she began to shiver._

" _Terrified." She agreed._

 _For some reason, her answer only seemed to make Draco even more anxious. He swallowed audibly and looked away, his expression dimming with self-disgust._

" _Then how is it that you still manage to do what's right?" He asked softly, his voice sounding thick with frustration. "I suppose I'm nothing but a bloody coward."_

" _Draco." Aria finally lifted her gaze and stared at him, noting the way Draco's eyes were downcast and his expression was twisted with bitterness. "There's nothing wrong with being afraid, you know. It's a natural response to our being human."_

" _My father was afraid of the Dark Lord, and look where it got him – where it got us!" Draco growled back, his eyes flashing. "My mother never wanted to join the Death Eaters and neither did I! We did it only because we were afraid!" He scoffed._

" _And now, you're both trying to do the right thing." She told him._

 _Draco sighed at that and stared out the window again, his gray eyes clouded with the uncertainty of his thoughts. More as an attempt to change the topic of their conversation than anything else, Aria forced a smile and spoke up in a lighter voice._

" _Do you ever think about what you want to do after the war?" She asked._

" _What?" Startled by her question, Draco blinked for a few seconds before he sneered and shook his head. "What makes you so sure we'll even be alive by then?"_

 _At his words, the smile on Aria's face immediately vanished and, without warning, she raised a hand and slapped him, causing his head to whip back sharply at the force of the action. They both fell into a shocked silence and for a second, judging from the anger in Draco's eyes, she thought he was going to hit her back._

 _But to her surprise, he gave her an apologetic grimace and dropped his gaze._

" _I'm sorry." He whispered._

 _Aria didn't answer him, her shoulders heaving with anger as she tried to calm the rapid pounding of her heart. Finally, after a few minutes of hushed silence, she forced herself to wipe the dark expression from her face and offered Draco a weak smile._

" _Will you continue running your father's company?" She asked._

 _Draco breathed a sigh of relief at her response, grateful for her implied acceptance of his apology. He considered her question for a while before he shrugged._

" _I suppose I will."_

 _Aria rolled her eyes at him and wrinkled her nose in disappointment._

" _That's so boring and predictable, Malfoy." She said bluntly._

" _Being the president of a company is 'not' boring, Potter." Draco glared back at her, looking annoyed at her reaction. "And what do 'you' want to do then? Oh wait, let me guess. You want to be Head Auror right? So you can continue utilizing this talent of yours in hunting down dark, evil wizards all the time. How predictable."_

" _Nah." Instead of getting angry at his mocking sentiments, Aria laughed softly and shook her head, her green eyes bright with mischief. "I'll admit I did want to become an Auror before, but then I thought about it and decided I've probably had enough of chasing down dark, evil wizards to last me a lifetime." She quipped, causing Draco to chuckle in spite of himself. "So I think I'm going to try my luck and become a Professional Quidditch Player. I hear Puddlemere United has an opening."_

" _You, really? A Professional Quidditch Player?" Draco smirked and arched an eyebrow at her in disbelief, causing Aria to scowl and elbow him back in retaliation._

" _Hey! I'm good enough to be a Professional Quidditch Player! I'll be the star seeker too, just you wait Malfoy." She glowered and stuck her tongue out at him._

" _Well, if we're going to talk crazy." Draco smiled to himself and turned to glance out the window again, a soft, thoughtful expression on his face. "I suppose…I've always wanted to work as a lawyer in the Wizengamot." He admitted._

 _Hearing Aria's amused snort, Draco's eyes narrowed and he glared at her._

" _What?" He challenged._

" _Nothing. It's just…" Aria's lips twitched as she tilted her head to the side, pretending to inspect him from head to toe._

 _"For some reason, imagining you as a stuck-up lawyer seems to suit you." She grinned at his disgruntled expression and added playfully, "I mean you always did like to pick fights with me for absolutely no reason all the bloody time. And you had such a natural talent for it too, I might add."_

" _Shut up, Potter."_

" _Wow look at you. Using such witty lawyerly insults already."_

 _Draco gave her a deadpan glare, though the smile on his face gave him away._

 _They fell into another comfortable silence at that, both teens smiling as they pondered on the other's words. After a long moment, however, Draco spoke again and this time, the seriousness of his words caused Aria to look up and meet his eyes._

" _Do you think we'll make it?" He asked softly._

 _When Aria blinked uncertainly at him, Draco swallowed and lowered his gaze again, scuffing the floor by his feet._

" _Do you believe that everything will eventually work out?"_

 _Aria met his gaze and answered him in a soft but resolute voice._

" _I do."_

 _Draco stared at her with wide gray eyes._

" _How can you be so sure?" He whispered._

" _I just am."_

 _Oddly enough, Draco seemed to accept this answer and he nodded slowly, the anxiety in his expression clearing away._

 _As Aria turned back to stare at the window, entranced as she watched the sun beginning to set, Draco kept his gaze focused on her the entire time, admiring the way the sun cast orange hues on her soft features._

 _He had always known she was beautiful._

 _From the very first day they met in Madam Malkin's robe shop before their first year, Draco had thought that she was the most beautiful, most spirited, and definitely the most infuriating girl he had ever met. She had rejected him then, and rejected him every year for as long as he could remember, but he still wanted her._

 _He had always wanted her._

 _It was something Draco had come to terms with ever since their bloody encounter in the prefect's bathroom during their sixth year and she had cast that sectumsempra spell on him, gifting him with that permanent scar across his chest._

 _His feelings for her only seemed to intensify after that, fluctuating back and forth across the boundaries of hate and love until that one day – the day that Draco attempted to end his own life by jumping off this very tower, Aria had found him._

 _She hadn't just saved him from death that day._

 _She had saved him from himself._

 _And Draco had been madly and stupidly in love with her ever since._

" _Aria?"_

 _Startled at his use of her first name, Aria stared expectantly at him and Draco hesitated for a few seconds when he found himself staring at her bright green eyes._

" _What's wrong?" She asked._

" _I just wanted to—" Swallowing nervously, Draco paused as he tried to think of the right words. "I never really thanked you properly for saving my life before."_

" _You're welcome, Draco." Her eyes dawned in understanding at his words and she nodded, giving him a small smile. "Honestly, I don't think I really did much."_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _Aria chuckled at his confused expression and gave him a knowing smile._

" _I don't think you would have jumped."_

" _What?" Draco couldn't help a surge of anger at her words and before he could stop himself, his eyes narrowed and he sneered at her in outrage. "Are you trying to tell me that you think I'm a coward? Is that what you mean?" He growled._

" _You misunderstood me, Draco." Aria looked chastened upon seeing his reaction and shook her head. "What I meant was… I don't think you would have done it because…I think you're much stronger than you actually realize." She explained._

 _When Draco frowned at her, she went on to clarify._

" _People who jump off towers and decide to kill themselves are those that have completely given up all hope in life and in themselves." She paused and gave him a soft smile. "Draco, you've always been a strong person. Even when you were broken and confused in sixth year, I could see it. You were so miserable because you wanted to do the right thing, even against your father's wishes. That's why you were so torn up back then." Aria reached out and took his hand, squeezing his fingers._

" _That's not the kind of person who would just jump out of a tower to end his own life. You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for." She whispered._

 _Draco stared intently at her, feeling as though his heart was going to burst from his chest as heat began to rush into his cheeks._

" _I have faith that you're a good person, Draco."_

~~ **END OF FLASHBACK** ~~

* * *

"Aria!"

Draco's face was white when she gasped and pulled sharply out of his memories. She stumbled backwards, crashing painfully into the drawers behind her.

"Please listen to me—"

"I—I…What was that?! Why don't I remember that memory?! Did you make it up?! Are you playing with me?!" Aria stammered, running her hands through her tangled hair and subconsciously messing up the black tresses even more. "Answer me, goddamn it!"

Flinching at the panic he heard in her voice, Draco tightened his hold on her.

"I know how bad this must look to you but—"

"You have _no_ idea how bad this all looks, Malfoy!" Aria screeched at him, her voice trembling with building anger. " _None_ of this makes any sense to me right now! What am I doing here?! Is this all supposed to be your fucking idea of a sick joke?!"

Draco's breath caught at the confusion and betrayal he heard in her voice.

"It's not a joke _._ "

"Then what the _hell_ is going on?!" Aria demanded furiously.

"Aria, you just used occlumency on me _._ You know as well as I do that the legilimens spell will only show you _genuine_ memories." When Aria blinked and turned to stare at the picture on the drawer again, her cheeks paling in realization, Draco hesitantly continued.

"The woman in the picture is _you_."

Aria's face paled and her hands began to tremble even more violently as she reached them both up, raking them both through her long black hair.

"No. Th—that's _impossible—"_

"This picture was taken 5 years ago the day Scorpius was born. You were so happy, Aria, and it didn't _matter_ to you that we were in the middle of a war—"

"No, that can't be. Then I would have remembered! I would have—"

Aria tried to pull away from him but Draco went on.

"—we became parents _so young_ but we were so happy that we didn't care. You told me you'd always wanted a family and I promised that I would do everything in my power to keep you happy. That was all I wanted." Draco rushed out, his voice sounding thick with raw, pent-up emotion. "We both fell in love that summer, Aria—"

" _No!_ Stop telling me this." Aria pleaded, her voice breaking as the tears that had pooled in her eyes finally began to roll down her cheeks.

"Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying." Draco went on, though from the pained expression on his face and the way his voice began to tremble, it was obvious that he was struggling to reign in his own emotions. "I never hid you from our son either. He _always_ knew about you. Why do you think he keeps chasing after you? Why do you think you're his favorite Quidditch player and that he has all these photos of you in his room?"

"S—so you're saying I just…I _abandoned_ my son?!" Aria's voice broke. "That I forgot about him?! That I missed the first five years of his life?!"

"Why would I do something like that?!" She croaked out.

"It wasn't your fault." Draco flinched as he reached out and placed his hands on her cheeks, wiping the tears from her eyes. "The Dark Lord, he distorted your memories, and I didn't know how else to help you! You were so sick and you kept screaming in your sleep every night! I'm so sorry—"

"No… _stop it!_ " Aria screamed at him, dropping her gaze from his when more tears began to prickle at the corner of her eyes. "I don't understand what you mean! And I refuse to believe any of it! I'm getting married, Draco! I can't do this!" She stammered before she tore violently away from him, making her way to the doors.

"Don't you question any of it?" Draco asked again as he took another step toward her, carefully gauging the emotions on her face. "You lost more than a _year_ of your life after the war, Aria. That may not seem much, but it was a _lifetime_ for me! Don't you ever wonder why something in your life always seemed to be missing?"

Her shoulders stiffened as his words struck a nerve but she refused to turn around and look at him, her tear-filled eyes trained firmly on the floor by her feet.

"What would you know about that?" She whispered bitterly.

"I know that you don't love your fiancé." He said quietly.

"I wouldn't be marrying him if I didn't love him."

Behind her, Aria failed to see the hurt and pain flash in Draco's eyes.

"You were always a horrible liar, Potter."

"I'm not lying."

Draco let out an angry, choked-up laugh.

"Fine then." She didn't see it, but Draco's eyes flashed at her words and he sneered. "If that's the case, why did you sleep with me last night?" He challenged.

Aria whirled around and glared at him from across the room.

"I was _drunk!_ "

"You were _lucid._ We both were." Draco retorted bluntly. "Potter, you slept with me last night because you _wanted_ to. You're here because you _want_ to be." His voice lowered into a soft whisper as he approached her again, reaching out and tilting her chin back up so he could peer into her eyes.

"Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers – and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago." Despite the intimacy of his words, his voice held no trace of smugness or mockery – only truth.

It was throwing Aria completely off balance.

"Stop it." She whispered weakly.

"If you love him, then tell me why it was _my_ name you were screaming last night? Why is that you all but _surrendered_ yourself to me when I took you and that you eagerly welcomed each of my thrusts into your body? Again and again until you were just _begging_ me to pound you sore, Potter." Draco drawled in that same slow, snide voice that Aria was so used to back when they were in Hogwarts that hearing it now, speaking such vulgar words, caused her to redden in anger and humiliation.

"I said _stop it_!"

"You wanted me last night the same way I wanted you." Draco pointed out; his mouth twisting into the mocking smirk Aria remembered had taunted her back when they were kids. "You may be able to lie to me, Potter, but your body can't!"

"Go to hell, Malfoy."

He scoffed at that, a grim smile on his face and he shook his head as though he knew some private joke but Aria had no idea what it was.

"Not without you."

Fuming, Aria felt her cheeks redden as she clenched her jaw and began stalking towards the doors.

When he blocked her and grasped her arm, however, she snapped and spun around, raising her hand and slapping him across the cheek. Startled, Draco stumbled at the impact of her hand against his face but he didn't let go, his fingers tightening around her arm as he held her back.

"I'm still waiting, Aria."

"Draco."

Aria lifted her gaze and stared pleadingly at him, her green eyes glassy with tears.

"I'm getting married _._ "

To her dismay, Draco's expression went cold at her answer and he withdrew his gaze sharply, as though she had burned him. Backing away, he stared intently at the floor as though it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his life. At his reaction, Aria's face fell and she began to move away from him.

Just as she was leaving the room, Draco spoke up in a very quiet voice.

"You'll know where to find me."

Hearing the same, cryptic words yet again, Aria felt the bubble of anger and frustration that had been building up inside her _burst_ instantly _._

" _Why_ do you keep saying that?!"

She spun around and glared at him, her shoulders heaving with anger.

"I have no idea what that means, Draco! Just what are you trying to tell me?!" She exploded.

When Draco fell silent and didn't look inclined to give her an answer, Aria didn't bother waiting for one.

She stormed out of his bedroom, slamming the door noisily behind her.

* * *

~~ **2 WEEKS LATER** ~~

"Merlin's beard, Aria." Ginny teased as she stared at Aria's reflection through the mirror from where she sat with Hermione by the couch.

The three women were in the bridal suite - half an hour away from ushering Aria down to the church that morning for her wedding. Given the nervous, uneasy fidgeting Aria had been doing for the past hour, both Ginny and Hermione had been doing nothing else but trying to calm her down.

"Sweetie, _relax._ " Ginny continued, giving the other woman an exasperated glare. "I'm not an expert on marriage or anything, but isn't the _groom_ supposed to be the one looking as though he's about to be gutted at the altar? _Smile!_ This is your day!"

"I—I can't help it, Ginny!" Aria blurted out, meeting Ginny and Hermione's eyes briefly through the mirror before she sighed and nervously began adjusting the beautiful lace veil that was covering her face. "I don't know…I _know_ I should be happy about all this but something just…There's something I have to tell you."

When both of her friends fell silent and stared at her in concern, Aria sighed and looked through the mirror again, meeting Hermione and Ginny's solemn looks.

"I cheated on Austin."

"What?!" Ginny's eyes widened and she sat up from her seat in alarm at that while Hermione just froze, blinking several times and staring at Aria in blank silence.

"With who?!"

Aria bit her lip and looked away from her in shame, staring intently at a far, obscure corner of the small dressing room.

"Draco Malfoy."

"What?! Aria, what the hell—?" Ginny's eyes flashed and she looked furious as she began cursing and pacing the room, looking frustrated at her friend's actions. "This is unbelievable, Aria. How could you do this? Is this you trying to back out of another relationship? How did you even see Malfoy again?! And does Austin know?!"

"He knows." Aria whispered silently as she lifted her gaze again, staring wearily at herself in the mirror as though her reflection could offer all the answers.

"I told him about it a few days ago." She admitted.

"And he just… _forgave_ you?" Ginny asked, blinking at her in disbelief.

If possible, the wretched expression on Aria's face worsened even more at this and she hung her head as tears of shame, guilt and confusion plagued her eyes.

"… _Yes._ "

"What did Austin say?" Hermione asked gently, her expressly strangely neutral and devoid of any reaction or judgment. "What did Austin say to you, Aria?"

"He said—" Aria sighed, her shoulders slumping with defeat. "—I probably did that as some kind of last fling or one night stand before I got married. He said he understood and that he won't judge me for it, especially since he just celebrated his bachelor's party that very same night." She told them, refusing to meet their eyes.

"So he just forgave you?" Hermione asked again in a soft voice.

"… _Yes."_

"It figures." Ginny snorted at that, scoffing and crossing her arms over her chest. "I heard from George that things got pretty wild during their bachelor's party. So that's probably why Austin's not giving you such a hard time. He's probably not so innocent himself." She pointed out.

"I suppose that makes sense." Aria replied halfheartedly, shrugging and looking away.

"But still… _Draco Malfoy?_ Why him? Didn't you two used to hate each other in school?" Ginny pressed further, painfully oblivious of the glare that Hermione sent her way.

"Ginny—" Hermione tried to interrupt them but Aria spoke again, her voice a quiet, almost death-like whisper.

"I feel terrible."

"Why? Because you cheated?" Ginny rolled her eyes and walked over to the black-haired bride, reaching out to place her hands comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Like you said, Austin already forgave you for what happened. Don't think about it anymore, Aria."

"That's not it." Aria clenched the beautiful lace trimmings of her veil with shaking hands.

"Aria?" Hermione finally stood up from her seat and walked over to her best friend, her brown eyes clouding with concern at the tormented look on Aria's face.

"Why do you feel terrible?" She asked calmly.

"Because." Aria looked up, allowing her brown-haired best friend to see the barrage of tears that were threatening to spill from her wide, glassy green eyes.

"I don't _love_ Austin." She choked out.

"Aria." Ginny went pale at that and, her eyes wide, she tried to reach out to comfort the other girl but that was when Hermione cut her off, turning sharply to her and giving her a firm, pointed look. "Ginny, would you mind checking up on the groomsmen to see if they're in position for the march? We'll be starting in 10 minutes."

"But Aria just said—"

"Ginny." Hermione cut off her protests, giving her a sharp glare.

"Fine." Ginny gave Aria a worried look and squeezed her hand in comfort before she stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

As soon as Aria and Hermione were left alone in the room, the hand Hermione was using to hold onto Aria's tightened almost painfully.

"I can't do this to you anymore." Slowly, the former Head Girl of Hogwarts turned to face Aria with a somber, foreboding expression on her face.

Hermione studied her black-haired best friend's trembling form.

"Aria, there's something important that you have to know."

* * *

"Do you, Austin Flint, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

 **'After our sixth year in Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy defected to the side of the light.' Hermione said softly as she stared at Aria's stunned, crestfallen expression through the mirror. 'During the war, while he and his mother stayed in Grimmauld Place, you two…well, you became very close friends.'**

Austin's blue eyes were warm as he stared at Aria from where he stood, a few inches away from her, on the altar. He smiled and squeezed her fingers in comfort.

 **'It was after Dumbledore died. You two fell in love and kept it a secret from everyone else. Months later, while we were searching for the horcruxes, you suddenly told me that you were pregnant. R—Ron was angry at first, and he even almost left. I was angry too, but we soon realized how wrong we were. We realized how much you and Draco loved each other and how much he really made you happy, Aria.'**

"I do." Austin answered.

 **'You gave birth to your son a few days before Hogwarts was attacked by Death Eaters. Draco didn't want you to go but you wouldn't listen. You said you needed to be the one to defeat the Dark Lord. And you did defeat him, Aria.'**

 **'Why don't I remember this, 'Mione? What the hell happened to me?!'**

The priest smiled at Austin and nodded before turning to Aria, frowning slightly when he saw the distracted look on the bride's face. For her part, Aria was barely paying attention to the ceremony at all and was staring blankly at her shoes.

 **'O—on the night of the final battle, right before Voldemort died, h—he called his dementors. Aria, they—' Hermione's voice broke. '—they surrounded you. They flew at you – one by one. It was so horrible! Y—you were screaming for help – you were so weak and bloody.' Hermione had to pause when her entire frame became wracked with violent sobs. 'B—by the time Draco reached you, they were already administering the Kiss on you.'**

"And do you, Harriah Potter, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

' **We managed to get you to St. Mungo's after but not without consequences. You kept screaming in your sleep. The healers said that your brief exposure to the Dementor's Kiss had managed to distort over a year of your memories – forcing you to relive every single death, trauma, fear and pain you saw during the war. They would have damaged** _ **more**_ **years of your memories had Draco not gotten to you in time.'**

Hearing her name, Aria blinked and looked up to stare blankly at both Austin and the priest's expectant gaze on her. She swallowed audibly as she tried to find her voice.

' **The weeks that followed were horrible. We couldn't take you out of the hospital because you were too terrified to fall asleep. You just kept screaming and crying each night. It was like you were trapped in a flashback of all your worst nightmares, and we just no longer knew how to help you.'**

"Aria?" The priest stared at her in concern.

' **Finally, the healers suggested that maybe, if we obliviated your affected memories, all the horrible nightmares would go away. But then, so would the last year of your life.' Hermione's voice began to tremble as she said this but she forced herself to continue.**

 **'Ron and I didn't want to at first, we knew how much you would hate the idea. How much you loved your son, and that if we obliviated your memories, you would forget all about him. But Draco – he held you every night, saw you screaming for your parents and Sirius all over again. He just didn't want you in pain anymore.'**

 **'So he just obliviated my memories?!' Aria choked out, the tears that had gathered in her eyes finally spilling over and rolling down her cheeks.**

"Aria." Austin's voice was tight and his smile was oddly restrained as he took her hand, and gave her fingers a kiss. "Don't dump me at the altar, sweetheart."

' **It was the only way, Aria! You were so delirious from the nightmares, that you couldn't even recognize who we were! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!'**

"I… _can't._ "

Blinking in shock, the hand that Austin had around Aria's slackened, and the smile vanished from his face, only to be replaced by a look of hurt and confusion.

 **'He said he just wanted you to be happy, Aria. He didn't even care that he had to live the rest of his life with you hating him, never knowing the past that you both shared or the child you had. He loves you that much.'**

 **'I don't understand any of this, Hermione.'**

Austin and the priest both stared at Aria in stunned, awkward silence.

"What?"

 **'Draco asked you to marry him that night, you know.'**

 **'…Did I say yes?'**

 **'You did.'**

"I—I'm so sorry, Austin." Aria tried to ignore the shocked gasps and rampant whispering from the guests seated around the large church. "But I can't marry you."

' **I remember the last words he said before he obliviated you.'**

"Aria, why are you doing this?" Austin stammered as he stared back at her, his cheeks flustered with hurt, humiliation and embarrassment.

The hand he was using to clasp tightly on hers loosened and he shook his head. "I don't understand."

 **'What did he say…?'**

 **'He said—'**

"I don't either." Unable to meet his eyes, Aria swallowed the painful lump that had formed in her throat and began to back away from him. Behind her, she heard Ron and Ginny calling her and trying to get her attention but she ignored them both.

 **'—you'll know where to find me.'**

"There's somewhere I have to be."

"Aria, wait! Stop!"

"I have to go."

Austin made a move to grab her arm but then Aria had already spun on her heel and began running as fast as she could down the aisle towards the church exit.

* * *

 _She's not coming._

Draco tried to ignore the painful ache in his chest as he stared down through the large window of a tall, deserted tower near the back of Hogwarts castle.

It was an old and lonely stone tower – abandoned years ago so that the school was no longer maintaining it regularly. Despite its lack of upkeep however, the tower was quite beautiful and over the years, it had become Draco's one special place to go to whenever he just needed time to think to himself or whenever he thought of Aria.

In silence, he stood by her favorite window, the one with the landscape view of the school castle.

 _I would have jumped out this window if she hadn't stopped me._

He remembered how Aria had found him that day, ready to jump off the ledge and plummet to his death on the rocks below.

Since then, the day she had saved him and the day she had discovered his secret hiding place, they had spent most of their time together meeting each other secretly in this very tower. It was the one place that nobody else knew where to find them.

For the past five years, since Aria had lost her memories of their relationship, Draco still came here every morning.

Every single day.

If only because he hoped, with all his heart, that Aria would come and find him again.

 _You'll know where to find me._

Draco's heart sank as he glanced down at his watch, noting that the wedding ceremony would have been over by now.

 _The wedding is over._

As the words sank in, Draco realized he couldn't breathe as he stared blankly at the scene of young, Hogwarts students rushing in and out of the castle.

 _She's not coming._

His heart clenched painfully as Draco reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the window.

As he turned around, intent on heading for the staircase leading down to the grounds, he inadvertently looked up and suddenly _froze_ in place.

There, standing just by the narrow entrance to the tower, stood a beautiful vision in _white._ It took him a couple more seconds to realize that the vision was Harriah Potter, staring back at him, wearing an exquisite wedding dress and looking so beautiful that Draco was almost certain she had stepped right out of his dreams.

"Aria."

Draco paused when heard the dryness of his voice and swallowed nervously, trying to piece together the words he wanted to say.

When nothing seemed to come to mind, he gave up and contented himself with just staring longingly at her, his hands trembling with raw emotion.

"Draco."

For her part, Aria stood there, unmoving, and stared at him as though she were seeing him for the very first time. The expression on her face looked pained, confused and conflicted as she watched him, her green eyes lingering intently on his features.

Neither of them spoke for a long time, until Draco couldn't take it anymore and he broke the silence when he glanced at her and gave her a small, sad smile.

"I always knew you'd make a beautiful bride." He tried to tease her softly, though the way his voice trembled easily betrayed the forced lightness of his tone.

When she didn't answer, Draco spoke again, though he avoided her eyes and stared intently at the ground by Aria's feet.

"Shouldn't you be at your wedding?" He asked.

Aria flinched at that and looked away, fidgeting nervously with her dress. She eventually answered in a soft, inaudible voice that Draco leaned in closer to hear her.

"I ran away."

Draco lifted his gaze slowly at her words, though he was careful to hide his expression so she couldn't see the small glimmer of hope that flickered in his eyes.

"…I see."

He took a careful step toward her, causing Aria to stiffen and back away from him in panic.

"It's okay." Draco whispered soothingly as he stilled and looked up, meeting her green eyes with a calm, reassuring gaze. "Why did you come to this place, Aria?"

"This was where I stopped you from jumping that night." She took another step away from him, her back was pressing against the stone surface of the tower.

Draco nodded slowly, accepting her answer but refusing to say anything else.

"There's something about this place." Aria whispered as she inspected the tower with a pained expression on her face. "So many memories. But I just can't remember."

The expression on Draco's face softened at her words.

He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and waiting patiently for her to continue the conversation. It took Aria a few more seconds before she swallowed and looked up, tilting her chin and surveying the tower's old, deteriorating stone walls.

"You wanted me to find you here." She whispered in realization, more to herself than anyone else.

"Yes." Draco answered carefully.

"…Why?"

As she was studying their surroundings, her eyes inadvertently locked with his and Aria froze when Draco slowly reached his hand out, waiting for her to take it.

"Let me show you."

Aria studied his offered hand uncertainly, trying to gauge his expression.

"I don't understand." She whispered.

Draco's soft, reassuring gaze was unwavering as it held hers.

"Look into my mind."

After a few seconds, she moved toward him and hesitantly placed her hand in his. The instant their palms touched, Aria felt a blast of images overwhelming her like a tidal wave and she faltered as his memories came rushing into her all at once.

* * *

~~ **Flashbacks: 1997-1998** ~~

" _I have faith that you're a good person, Draco."_

 _Draco fell completely silent at that and was unable to do anything else except stare at her, mesmerized by her words and the way they seemed to be filling him up with such a strange warmth that spread to every inch of his body. Aria met his gaze easily, and before Draco could stop himself, his gaze dropped down until he was staring at her mouth. He swallowed audibly, his breaths coming in slow and shallow._

" _I love you."_

 _Her eyes widened at Draco's admission and she blinked, staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. When Draco swallowed and looked away, as though anticipating her rejection, Aria surprised him when she moved forward and, without any hesitation whatsoever, stood on her toes to press her lips against his._

 _As soon as he felt her soft lips against his own, Draco lost all form of coherent thought together. He responded almost instinctively, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pulling her closer against him so that their bodies were aligned and pressed intimately together. Her lips parted and Draco took eager advantage by tilting his head and deepening the kiss, coaxing her tongue teasingly with his own._

 _Without breaking their kiss, Aria moaned and arched against him, her hands linking themselves invitingly around his neck while his hands moved down, grabbing the back of her thighs and lifting her up until she was pressed firmly against the wall behind her. They both gasped as their bodies pressed together, her legs wrapping invitingly around his waist as Draco ground his hips against hers, eliciting another moan from her lips as she raked her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer [1]._

...

The memory seemed to grow hazy after that.

It was followed by a series of images of Aria and Draco spending most of that summer [2] together – kissing, laughing and smiling together, holding each other as they watched the sunset from that tower – _their tower_. Interspersed within these memories, there were passionate images as well – private, _intimate_ flashbacks of them both, moaning, gasping and screaming each other's names as they made love each night, their bodies intertwined so closely together that it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

There were so many of these private memories.

They were both young and in love, and Aria realized that they must have spent every waking hour of their few times together, memorizing each other's body. Both of them were too naïve to have predicted the consequences of their actions.

And so, of course, what happened in the next 9 months seemed inevitable.

Draco hadn't even known about it, and it was a miracle in itself that Aria hadn't gotten hurt while she, Hermione and Ron had been hiding all around England in search of Voldemort's horcruxes. Draco hadn't even been with her at the time. He had been with the Order of the Phoenix, helping out the other survivors, magical and muggle alike, and fighting back against every attack the Death Eaters aimed around London.

The day he found out was the day they saw each other again in Bill and Fleur Weasley's cottage, only a few days before the Battle of Hogwarts.

...

" _Oh god! This hurts so much! Please just get him out of me!"_

 _Aria screamed in pain and clenched her eyes, sobbing hysterically as Mrs. Weasley and Fleur scrambled about in front of her, readying her for the baby's delivery._

" _Okay, I can already see the baby's head." Mrs. Weasley called out, ignoring Aria's screams of pain as she held Aria's legs apart and gestured for Draco to step aside._

" _We're going to have to deliver this baby now. Aria, deep breaths—"_

" _What's happening? Is my son going to be okay?! What's going on?!" Draco demanded, his eyes wide with worry as he stood by Aria's bed, clasping tightly onto her hand. Gritting her teeth, Aria tightened her grip around his fingers when she felt another violent contraction rip through her entire body, causing her to scream again._

" _Oh god! Make it stop! Please make it stop!" She sobbed._

 _Hearing the way Aria's voice cracked with tears, Draco's self-control snapped and he lashed out at Fleur beside him, jostling her angrily. "What's happening to her?! Why aren't you doing anything to help her?! She's in pain, can't you see?!"_

" _Draco!" Fleur blurted out in exasperation as she extracted herself from the Slytherin's grip and tried to give him a quelling look. "I promise, Aria's going to be fine. But the contractions are coming in fast because she's about to give birth. Mrs. Weasley and I are not prepared for this, so we need to focus. Can you calm down?"_

 _His face ashen, Draco swallowed and ran a shaky hand through his hair._

" _I—I think so—"_

 _Aria screamed in pain just then, cutting him off and causing Draco to flinch as he rushed to her side, grabbing her hand and holding it to desperately his lips. He kissed her hand as she began crying and breathing in time with the Fleur's counts._

" _That's good, Aria. Okay, deep breaths now. Inhale…Exhale. On the count of three, you're going to push as hard as you can, alright? Now…One. Two. Three!"_

 _Tear-brightened green eyes slammed shut as Aria tightened her grip around Draco's hand and sat up. Gasping, Aria squelched back a scream and pushed as hard as she could, falling back onto the bed a few seconds later in complete exhaustion._

" _I can't do this." Her bottom lip trembled and another batch of tears came pouring down her cheeks as she hiccupped, burying her face into Draco's shoulder. "I can't do this. It hurts too much, Draco. I can't." She pleaded._

" _What are you talking about? You're doing great, love." Draco shushed her gently and leaned down, placing a lingering kiss onto her forehead. "Now come on, just one more push and we'll finally have our little Slytherin." He teased her gently._

" _Slytherin?" In spite of herself, Aria's lips twitched weakly at his words. She opened her eyes slowly, giving him a reluctant smile. "Do you really think I'll let you influence my child to be a Slytherin after I spent 12 hours in labor just to give birth to him?"_

 _Draco chuckled at that and leaned down, giving her a tender kiss._

" _Aria! One more push, sweetheart, come on! He's almost out!"_

 _At Mrs. Weasley's urging, Aria sat up again and, after one long, deep breath, she squelched a scream and pushed, gasping and falling back onto the bed when she heard the sound of a slap, followed by the most adorable cry she had ever heard._

" _9 pounds!" Mrs. Weasley announced with a smile, cradling a tiny, wrinkled baby in her arms. "He's a handsome and very healthy baby boy! Congratulations!"_

 _"He's so tiny." Aria choked tearfully, her throat dry as Mrs. Weasley deposited her newly born infant son into her arms._

 _"Draco, is he okay? Why is he crying? Is he hurt?" She whimpered._

" _He's just fine." Draco whispered, his voice sounding laced with tears as he leaned over her and bent down, dropping a shaky kiss onto their baby son's head._

" _He looks like you." Aria whispered, smiling softly as she cradled her son closer against her chest and stroked the few strands of platinum blonde hair away from his forehead. His throat too dry for him to say anything, Draco leaned down again and he answered her by pressing his lips against hers in a sweet chaste kiss._

" _Hello there, darling." Aria took one of her baby son's hands in hers, admiring each perfect little tiny finger, and pressing each one to her lips._

 _"Ten fingers…Ten toes." She whispered, laughing softly despite the tears streaming down her cheeks._

 _Draco smiled back shakily at her, his eyes misty with tears._

" _Would you like to name him?" Aria asked softly when she lifted her gaze. She stared at him, giving him a tender smile. "I'm okay with any name you choose."_

" _Scorpius Abraxas." Draco paused and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "My Grandfather's name. I've always respected him…More so than my father."_

" _Scorpius, huh?"_

 _Draco bit his lip and watched Aria's reaction carefully, studying the way her eyebrows fused together as she considered the name. After a few seconds, however, her expression softened and she smiled, reaching out to caress their son's cheek._

" _My darling little Scorpius." She whispered, laughing tearfully when their son began squirming and wriggling in her arms. Scorpius began to cry just then, whimpering as he blinked up at both of his parents with big emerald green eyes [3]._

" _Mommy and Daddy love you very much."_

...

The memory faded but more images of baby Scorpius soon followed.

There weren't many of them, as Draco remembered they had only gotten the chance to spend a few precious days with their son before Voldemort's attack on Hogwarts, but those brief, tender moments of their young family's stolen times together had kept him going during that Death Eater attack on Hogwart's grounds.

It was a bloody battle; one that cost them dozens of lives.

 _Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and so many others._

That night, as Voldemort and his Death Eaters began to kill off her friends one by one, Aria had taken each loss like a physical blow to her chest. When she couldn't take it anymore, she did the one thing the prophecy set her out to do.

She killed Lord Voldemort.

And as she stood there, standing over the Dark Lord's body, the Elder Wand held tightly in her hand, Voldemort had given her one last malevolent smile.

As he lay there, dying, he surprised everyone when he began _laughing_ maniacally – as though he knew some sick, inside joke that only he could understand. And then, just before he died, he screamed out an unfamiliar spell that suddenly caused the horde of dementors watching them to descend upon Aria, trapping her inside a circle.

They heard her screaming for help as the dementors swooped down on her one by one, sucking out bits of her soul each time they swept through but it was too late.

Her friends were too far away from her.

Draco was too far away from her.

By the time Draco had reached her, screaming her name and desperately fighting his way through the Dementors that had crowded around her, Aria had already lost consciousness and she lay very still on the ground. After he and the others had finally managed to drive all the remaining Dementors away, Draco knelt down beside her and he began to tremble in fear when he realized the way Aria's green eyes had dimmed and the way the Gryffindor seemed to be staring lifelessly up at the sky.

She was screaming and crying hysterically as they had rushed her to St. Mungo's that night but the damage was already done.

The healers explained that her exposure to the Dementor's Kiss had altered about a year's worth of her memories. Her memories of her time with Draco and Scorpius were gone now, tarnished with gruesome images of pain, fear, loss and death – every single horrible thing that Aria had experienced during the war. They left her with waking nightmares every night, causing her to scream out in her sleep.

It was Voldemort's final, parting gift for Aria just before he died.

...

 _Aria's anguished scream reverberated loudly through the silent corridors of St. Mungo's that evening and Draco flinched when he heard it._

 _When he noticed a middle-aged female healer making her way towards him, Draco re-adjusted Scorpius' wailing form in his arms and stood up from his seat, cradling his infant son against his chest as he approached her. As he neared her, Draco tried not to notice the worried look on her face._

" _Mr. Malfoy?" She asked quietly._

" _What is it? Have you found anything? Is there something we can do to help her?" Draco rushed out, struggling desperately to keep his emotions in check as he adjusted Scorpius in his arms again, his fingers trembling as he tried to stroke them comfortingly through his baby son's mane of blond hair._

" _She hasn't been showing any signs of improvement." The healer began._

" _Just tell me you're doing all you can to help her!" Draco snapped._

" _We're doing the best we can—" The healer assured him, though she winced in concern when she saw the hysterical way Scorpius was crying in his father's arms._

"— _but like I said, this is very dark magic. All of the horrible images that Aria keeps seeing in her head have been imprinted so deep into her memories that it's almost impossible to filter them out without damaging her mind. In the meantime, we could try a powerful sleeping draught so she could rest—"_

" _No, don't. She'll just have nightmares in her sleep." Draco interrupted her in a drained voice and shook his head, his eyes falling to the floor. "At least when she's awake, she understands somewhat that the images aren't real." He whispered quietly, swallowing the painful lump in his throat as he tried to calm Scorpius down._

" _Do you need help?" The healer flicked her glance back and forth between the exhausted expression on Draco's face and the wailing, red-faced infant in his arms. "Your son hasn't stopped crying for hours now. He could get sick if he doesn't stop."_

" _I_ _—_ _I know._ _He's just hungry but I—"_

 _Draco's voice broke and before he knew it, the tears that had gathered in his eyes spilled over, trailing slowly down his pale cheeks._

 _"_ _I don't know what to do! Aria is the one who feeds him—"_

 _He swallowed a hushed sob, biting his lip to keep it from trembling as he looked up pleadingly at the healer again and shook his head._

" _I—I was going to wait for Aria to feed him but she looked so terrified a—and she just kept screaming and thrashing around, I was afraid she might accidentally hurt him! But now, my son's hungry and Aria's still sick, I really don't know what to do anymore. Please help me, what do I do—?!"_

" _Breathe, dear child. Here, take this." At the panicked, desperate look on Draco's face, the female healer seemed to take pity on him and she reached into her pack, handing him a towel and a fresh new set of clean baby robes. "Your son looks drenched with sweat, he might get sick in those robes. I'll fetch for more diapers—"_

" _N—no, that's not it! He just needs his mother! Aria needs to get better—"_

" _Mister Malfoy!" The healer admonished him sharply, causing the Slytherin to flinch at the reprimand in her voice. "Whether you realize it or not, that baby son of yours is starving, and we do not have the time to wait for his mother to get better! Do you understand?!"_

" _I—I understand but—" Draco ignored the looks he was receiving from the other patients around the hospital and stared imploringly up at the middle-aged healer. "Will Aria be okay? You have to help her get better! She doesn't deserve this. She just saved the entire wizarding world, damn it, she deserves better than this!"_

" _Like I said, we will do what we can, Mister Malfoy."_

" _That's not bloody good enough! You don't understand—"_

" _I shall prepare a mild sedating potion for your son's mother." The healer interrupted, gathering Scorpius from him when she noticed the way the baby's whimpers had dissolved into coughing fits. "It will be able to sedate her for a short while. It won't be long, but it will give me a chance to extract some milk for your little boy."_

...

Those next few weeks that Aria had spent being transferred from one hospital to another were painful for Draco and her friends but none of the healers seemed to have any idea what to do, or how to help her. Her nightmares just kept coming back, sometimes even when she was awake, and it came to a point where Aria could no longer function properly as she did nothing but scream and sob for the horrible images to go away.

Often times, at night, Draco would wake up from where he sat beside her hospital bed to the sounds of Aria's terrified whimpers and sobs, and he would hold her close and whisper soothing words into her ear until the wee hours of morning. Since her condition hadn't improved since the time she had first been brought to the hospital and they couldn't rely on extracting milk from her whenever she was asleep, the Healers finally provided Draco with a special milk formula for Scorpius that would replace his mother's milk whenever he was hungry. It wasn't ideal, but the Healers were running out of options, and Draco began to lose hope with each passing day.

Finally, after a month in confinement, the Head Healer of St. Mungo's called for a private meeting with Draco, Ron and Hermione one afternoon.

...

" _No!"_

 _The tips of Ron's ears were flushed red with outrage as he glared at the Head Healer's resigned expression. Seated next to him, Hermione paled and buried her tear-streaked face into her hands, her shoulders trembling with harsh, violent sobs._

" _Tell me you're not actually suggesting we do this to her! There's got to be another way, tell me there's another way!" Ron raged again, and the way his voice had risen into a furious shout drew the attention of the other visitors in the lounge._

" _We are out of options, Mister Weasley." The Head Healer sighed wearily and shook his head in dismay. "She was exposed to the Dementor's Kiss too long, she's lucky to be alive. Those horrible nightmares are too heavily intertwined in her consciousness now, if we try to extract them, we could wind up damaging her mind!"_

" _B—but you're talking about obliviating a year's worth of her memories [4]!" Hermione stammered, her voice trembling as she stared imploringly at the middle-aged Healer. "Those memories define who she is, her choices, what she's done with her life! If we erase them, Aria won't even remember anything at all about the war!"_

" _Then perhaps that might be for the best." The Head Healer replied grimly. "All the trauma, deaths and horrors she experienced during this war are the source of these horrible images. Perhaps, if we truly want her to live the rest of her life without waking nightmares plaguing every hour of the day, we should consider this solution."_

" _No." Ron's face darkened and he shook his head, his features creasing into a frown. "Aria wouldn't want this, and it wouldn't be fair to make his decision for her."_

 _"It is the only way she will be able to live her life normally again." The Head Healer said with a heavy sigh._

" _I—I don't think this is right." Hermione faltered when the Head Healer suddenly turned his questioning gaze to her. "There has to be another way to help—"_

" _Do_ _it."_

 _Gasping at the soft, defeated tone of Draco's voice, Ron and Hermione both glared at the Slytherin in stunned disbelief as he cradled his infant son against his chest. Ignoring their shocked reactions, he met the Head Healer's expectant gaze with red-rimmed gray eyes and nodded slowly, stroking Scorpius' silver locks of hair._

" _If it'll help her get better, then I'm willing to do it."_

" _Malfoy, what are you saying?!" Ron blurted out, glaring at Draco as though he had gone mad. "There has to be another way to help her! There has to be!"_

" _There isn't any other way, Weasley." Draco whispered weakly, avoiding his eyes as he stared intently at his son's sleeping face._

" _If we do this, she'll forget that Scorpius was even born—"_

" _I bloody know that, damn it!" Draco's eyes suddenly blazed at Ron's words and before he could stop himself, he rose to his feet and sneered down at him in anger. "Do you think I 'want' to erase her only memories of our child together?! Do you actually think that I'd agree to this if I had a bloody choice?!" He growled at him._

" _Draco." Hermione spoke softly, her misty brown eyes growing wide with sad realization at the meaning behind Draco's words. "If you erase Aria's memories of the past year, it's not just the war she'll forget." Her voice lowered and studied Draco's reaction carefully, noting the way that he was purposely avoiding her eyes._

" _She'll also forget that she fell in love with you."_

 _Despite the gentle way that Hermione had spoken those ugly words, Draco still felt as though a knife had twisted in his gut when he heard them. Biting her lip, Hermione averted her eyes and stared sadly at the tiny bundle of blankets that Draco was cradling against his chest._

" _She'll forget that she ever had your son."_

 _Slowly, Draco looked up and met her tearful gaze with his own, swallowing painfully before he nodded, shut his eyes and looked away._

" _I know."_

...

" _Draco, what are you doing?"_

 _Aria's eyes were wide as she stared at him, watching as a pale-faced Draco raised his wand and pointed it at the scar on her forehead. In spite of the resolute decision in his eyes, his entire expression slowly began to break down as he stood in front of her, his hands trembling with the anguished sobs that wracked his frame._

" _I love you." He whispered in a choked-up voice. "You know that right?"_

" _Draco. I know what they said to you." Aria paled as she raised both of her hand up at him, trying to inch away from his approaching form. "But please don't do this. I don't want to forget. I—I don't want to lose you. Both of you." She pleaded._

" _You won't lose us. I promise." Draco's voice shook and his fingers tightened painfully around his wand as he stared achingly at her, memorizing each and every inch of her beautiful face as though it would be the last time he would ever see her._

" _Draco, please." Aria pleaded, her voice weak as she stared quietly up at him. "I don't want to get better. I don't want to lose my son. I want to stay with you."_

" _I've been meaning to ask you." Draco whispered tenderly; trying to give her a smile despite the fact that his chin was beginning to quiver in time with emotion._

" _Will you marry me?"_

 _She met his eyes without any hesitation._

" _Yes."_

 _Draco's eyes stung with tears at her answer. In spite of the excruciating pain in his chest, he forced himself to smile again, lost in the beautiful green of her eyes._

" _Then I'll be waiting for you."_

 _At his words, Aria's eyes softened and her gaze locked intently onto his._

" _I love you too." She whispered._

 _Draco trembled at that and he managed to give her one last, tearful smile._

" _You'll know where to find me."_

 _With that, Draco forced himself to close his eyes and look away from her, sobbing harshly as he pressed the tip of his wand against the scar on her forehead._

" _Obliviate!"_

~~ **End of Flashbacks** ~~

* * *

"No."

Aria's voice broke and she felt her knees begin to give out as she pulled her hand away from Draco's and stumbled backward a few feet, her green eyes wide and rapidly filling up with tears of realization, anguish, happiness, regret – every single emotion she could possibly think of.

It all came rushing back into her all at once, filling her chest up with so much raw pain and overwhelming emotion that for a minute, she couldn't breathe.

"Oh god…I—I'm so sorry…"

Aria's clenched her eyes shut and she knelt down onto the ground as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Before she realized it, her restraint broke and she began crying uncontrollably, crystal droplets pouring down her flushed cheeks as though they would never stop. The sharp, twisting pain in her chest became so painful that she began gasping for breath in between her sobs. Within a few moments, she felt someone kneeling down onto the ground in front of her and soon after, she felt a pair of warm, strong arms wrapping tightly around her, pulling her against a hard frame.

"Shhhh." From the way Draco's voice shook, it was obvious he was crying as well but he held onto her tightly, kissing her hair and stroking her cheek in reassurance.

"It's okay." He whispered tenderly against her hair. "It's going to be okay."

"I'm sorry, Draco. I'm so, _so_ sorry." She sobbed as she collapsed against him, buying her tearful face against his chest. "I c—couldn't remember, I didn't know—"

"I know. And I never doubted you. Not for one second." He managed a tearful smile at that and kissed her hair, pushing the black strands away from her face.

"I knew you'd find your way back."

Her knees buckled at his words and her face crumpled as she tightened her arms around him, whispering, "I'm sorry" over and over again in between her sobs as Draco shushed her gently and pulled her closer against him. He pressed his lips soothingly against her cheek and she held onto him, trembling so much that Draco was worried she was hurting herself. He leaned in and whispered softly into her ear.

"I love you so much." Draco whispered brokenly, barely able to restrain his own tears as he tightened his arms around her waist.

"I love you too." Her voice was sounded broken, barely audible in between her sobs but Draco head her perfectly.

They were both crying as they clung onto the other, as though they were afraid the other was going to disappear. They stayed like that for a long time, both too drained from the intensity of their emotions to do or say anything else.

Finally, when Aria heard a couple of tiny footsteps approaching, she stiffened and glanced uncertainly at Draco, causing him to give her a small, shaky smile.

"Father?"

Aria's breath caught in her throat.

Slowly, she pulled away from Draco and turned around, staring at the blonde, green-eyed five-year-old standing by the doorway and watching them.

For a few seconds, Scorpius hesitated when he saw the tears on his father's face. When Draco just smiled gently and beckoned him closer, however, the uncertain look on his handsome face began to clear and Scorpius stared at Aria again, his identical green eyes locking intently with hers.

"…Mommy?"

Hearing the nervous, hopeful tone in Scorpius' voice, Aria's restraint over her emotions broke again. Her eyes stung and a choked-up, tearful laugh tore itself from her lips as she knelt down in front of her son, admiring his handsome face up close.

"H—hi baby." She forced a smile as she stared imploringly at him, watching as a myriad of different emotions seemed to cross Scorpius' features.

"My darling little Scorpius." She croaked out.

For a long time, Aria could do nothing else but stare at him, her precious little baby boy, admiring his perfect little cherub face. Her heart twisted when she saw how much he had grown without her and her knees almost gave out at the pang of loss she felt when she realized how much of his life she must have missed.

"Look how much you've grown. She whispered shakily and bit her lip when she felt it tremble, barely able to hold herself together.

Scorpius stood a few feet away from her, as though unsure of how to react, and Aria had never wanted anything as badly as the chance to pull him into her arms.

"Can I hold you, baby?" Aria pleaded softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her little boy was _beautiful._

He was a spitting image of his father – sleek, platinum blonde hair, handsome aristocratic features – but his eyes were Aria's. Warm, emerald green that seemed to glow brightly with hope and happiness as he stared at her just then, his expression lighting up in realization.

"You remember me?" He asked, his face softening into a shy smile.

"Oh sweetheart." Aria squelched back another sob as she finally gave in and swept him up into her arms, holding him tightly against her and dropping kisses onto the top of his blonde hair over and over and over again. "Mommy loves you so much. I've missed you so. I'm _so_ sorry." She croaked out, cradling him close to her chest.

"I've missed you too, Mommy." Scorpius told her pointedly as he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. "What took you so long? Father and I have been waiting for _ages_. Did you get lost along the way?" In spite of herself, the self-assured tone in Scorpius' voice caused both of his parents to choke back a laugh.

"I think I did." Aria whispered back as she pulled away and tenderly stroked his cheek.

"How did you know where to find us?" Scorpius asked curiously as she stood back up, holding him tightly in her arms.

"I'll _always_ know where to find you, darling." She answered softly, giving him a tearful smile.

Scorpius blinked at that and stared up at her, tilting his head curiously to the side.

"Always?" He asked.

"Always." Draco answered him with a small smile as he approached them, causing Aria to turn around slowly and look up at him over Scorpius' shoulder. She froze as she stared at him, suddenly feeling very nervous when she saw the way Draco raised his eyebrows at her in concern.

"Aria?"

"I've been meaning to ask you." She began uncertainly, biting her lip as she recalled the very same words that Draco had spoken to her almost five years ago.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Scorpius squealed loudly, cutting off his father's answer and throwing his arms around her neck.

When Aria let out another choked-up laugh at Scorpius' answer, Draco smiled weakly and answered her by leaning down, their lips meeting in a long, deep kiss. Not trusting herself to say anything else as she pulled away, she dropped a kiss onto her son's hair and then wrapped her beautiful family tightly in her arms.

She wasn't planning on letting either of them go for a very long time.

* * *

 **END**

* * *

 **Notes:**

[1] If I'm not mistaken, this was probably when Scorpius was conceived. Haha. This was sometime around late July or early August. She gives birth to him a few days before the Battle of Hogwarts.

[2] In this universe, Aria doesn't actually go back to Privet drive after 6th year but alternated her time between Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts to meet with the Order of the Phoenix regularly. That's how she was able to spend time with Draco.

[3] I know babies don't get green eyes right away when they're born, but I felt that the scene wouldn't have had the same effect if Scorpius didn't have Aria's green eyes right away.

[4] After defeating Voldemort, the Dementors all swooped in on her to administer the Dementor's Kiss. Draco was able to interrupt them and save her before they could finish, but her exposure to it managed to contaminate a year's worth of her memories with Dementor magic, thus making her relive all of her horrible memories and driving her insane every time she fell asleep.


End file.
